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x°. 



THE 



MILITARY HISTORY 



OF 



I 

' YATES COUNTY, N. Y., 



COMPRISING A RECORD OF THE SERVICES RENDERED BY CITIZENS 

OF THIS COUNTY IN THE ARMY AND NAVY, FROM THE 

FOUNDATION OF THE, GOVERNMENT 

TO THE PRESENT TIME. 



WALTER WOLCOTT, 



A MEMBER OF THE YATES COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 




JCA^ 



P^:NN VAN, N. V. 

EXI'RESS BOOK AND JOll I'KINTING HOUSE, 
1895. 



A 






Copyright, iSgs, by 
WALTER WOLCOTT. 



TO THE SOI.DIERS AND SAILORS OF THE LATE WAR 

NOW RESIDING IN YATES COUNTY, THIS TESTIMONY TO THE 

GREAT SERVICE THEY RENDERED THE NATION 

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 



PREFACE. 



THE following pages contain facts whicli are a part of the 
annals of Yates County, and, as such, are of interest to 
all intelligent residents, particularly to those who are veter- 
ans of the Civil War. To the young and rising generation, 
also, the facts herein related will be found valuable, both for 
instruction and for reference. 

It has been the object of the writer to produce a con- 
densed history of certain military events in which citizens 
of Yates County have been concerned. This county has, in 
a military sense, a record alike grand and creditable. Many 
of the early settlers were soldiers of the Revolution, and not 
a few of the inhabitants of the region now included in our 
county took an active part in the War of 1812. Among the 
volunteers of the Mexican War, Yates County was to some 
extent represented, and to a large extent among the soldiers 
who fought in the War of 1861-'65 for the preservation of 
the Union. 

The enemy, to whom our soldiers in the last war were op- 
posed, have been designated in contemporary histories and 
newspapers as "rebels" — and so they were. Public opinion, 
however, at the present day, seems to favor the designation 
of "Federals" and "Confederates" as proper names for the 
respective forces of the North and South. Such are they 
called in American histories that have in late years appeared, 
and as "Confederates" are the Southern troops mentioned 
in this volume. 



VI PREFACE. 

In the preparation of this work various authorities have 
been consulted, and it will be observed that quotations have 
been made from a number of publications, to which, in most 
instances, credit has been given. It is not claimed that the 
work is entirely exempt from those imperfections to which 
works of this kind are liable. But the reading public will, 
it is hoped, make some allowances for any shortcomings that 
may appear in this the writer's first eifort, in book form, in 
historical composition. 

Penn Yan, November, 1895. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART FIRST. 

CHAPTER I. 

The Senecas, a war-like tribe of the Six Nations— Red Jacket — Sir 
William Johusoii — Massacres at Wyoming and at Cherry Valley — 
Invasion by the American Forces under General John Sullivan — 
The Battle of Newtown — Destruction of an Indian Village within 
the present limits of the town ot Benton — Effects of the Invasion 
on the Indians— Jemima Wilkinson, the " Universal Friend " — The 
Friend's House in the town of Jerusalem used at the close of the 
Civil War as a Soldiers' Home — James Parker and General William 
Wall — Soldiers of the Revolution who settled in Yates County . . 

CHAPTER II. 

Close of the Revolution — The Phelps and Gorham Purchase — Captain 
Charles Williamson — The Genesee Country One Hundred Years 
Ago — British Insolence — The War of 1812 — Citizens of Yates County 
Who Fought in this War — Organization of Yates County — The 
War with Mexico — Soldiers of the War from Yates County — Re- 
sults of the Mexican War 



PART SECOND. 
CHAPTER I. 

Sentiment in Yates County before and during the War for the 
Union 16 

CHAPTER II. 

The Thirty-third Regiment of Infantry 35 

CHAPTER III. 

The F^irst Regiment United States Sharpshooters — The Third, Twenty- 
third, and Thirty-fourth Regiments, Infantry 47 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Forty-fourth Regiment of Infantry 51 



Vlil TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

The Seventy-sixth, Eighty-fifth, Ninety-seventh, One Hundred and 
Second, and One Hundred and Fifth Regiments, Infantry .... 57 

CHAPTER VI. 
The One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment of Infantry .... 63 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Eighth, Twentieth, and Twenty-second Regiments, Cavalry — The 
Norfolk Brigade Band — The Fifteenth and Fiftieth Regiments, En- 
gineers 78 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The One Hundred and Forty-eighth Regiment of Infantry 88 

CHAPTER IX. 

The First Independent Battery —Battery B (Third Light Artillery)— 
The Fourteenth and Sixteenth Heavy Artillery 97 

CHAPTER X. 
The One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment of Infantry .... 105 

CHAPTER XI. 

The One Hundred and Eighty-eighth and One Hundred and Ninety- 
fourth Regiments, Infantry — Grand Review at Washington at the 
end of the War 114 

CHAPTER XII. 

Citizens of Yates County in Other Commands — Colored Soldiers — The 
Confederate Service — The United States Navy 121 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic in Yates County — J. Barnet 
Sloan Post, No. 93, at Penn Yan — Decoration Day Observances at 
Penn Yan in 1869 and 1870 — Memorial Volume Presentation — Wil- 
liam H. L,ong Post, No. 486, at Penn Yan — Edwin and Foster P. 
Cook Post, No. 71, at Dundee — Hays Post, No. 115, at Potter — 
Scott Post, No. 319, at Rushville — The Woman's Relief Corps — The 
Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic 126 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Militia Organizations— The First Separate Company, N. G. S. N. Y. 142 



Ti-i e: 



MILITARY HISTORY 

OF YATES COUNTY, N. Y. 



The Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Mexican 

War. 

CHAPTER I. 

The Senecas, a war-like tribe of the Six Nations — Red Jacket — Sir William 
Johnson — Massacres at Wyoming and at Cherry Valley — Invasion by 
the American Forces under General John vSullivau — The Battle of New- 
town — Destruction of an Indian Village within the present limits of 
the town of Benton — Effects of the Invasion on the Indians — ^Jemima 
Wilkinson, the " Universal Friend" — The Friend's House in the town 
of Jerusalem used at the close of the Civil War as a Soldiers' Home — 
James Parker and General William Wall — Soldiers of the Revolution 
who settled in Yates County. 

WHEN the Thirteen Colonies became in 177G free 
and independent States, the extent of kind now 
inchided in Yates County was as yet a wilderness, occupied as 
a part of their huntinf^ ground by the Senecas, a war-like 
tribe belonging to the powerful Iroqttois Confederacy, other- 
wise knovvn as the Six Nations, from the number of tribes 
or nations of which it was composed. The tribes that with 
tlie Senecas united in forming this league of lied Men were 
the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Mohawks, the Cayugas, and 
the Tuscaroras. 

The Inxpiois exceeded in war-like prowess all neighbor- 
ing Inelian nations. In the years that they held sway, op- 



.J THE MILITARY HISTOKY OF YATES COUNTY. 

posing tribes were brought under subjection, and the French, 
during the Old Regime in Canada, having on several occa- 
sions experienced their potency as warriors, learned to re- 
gard them with respect as a formidable foe. The extensive 
domain occupied by the Six Nations was called by them the 
Long House, of which the Mohawks kept the eastern door 
and the Senecas the western. 

Concerning the Senecas there exist certain facts which are 
of a local interest. The members of this tribe claimed to 
have originated at Bare Hill in the north-western part of 
the town of Middlesex, and the Big Elm of Italy Hollow 
was used by them as a council-tree. Within the present 
county of Yates also was born the celebrated chief, Sagoye- 
watha, or, as he is commonly known. Red Jacket.* Great 
and important changes have been brought about by the long 
era of civilized settlement which succeeded the occupancy of 
our county by what has been considered the most blood- 
thirsty and ferocious of the Six Nations. The feelings of 
terror and hatred which they once excited have long since 
vanished with the objects which gave them rise. A few 
yearly decreasing mounds, some traces of nearly obliterated 
trails, an occasionally found implement of hunting or war- 



* Red Jacket, the distinguished native orator, who figured as a chief of 
the Senecas during the later and more disastrous years of the Indian oc- 
cupation, was born on the shores of the west branch of Lake Keuka, and 
probably within the boundaries of Jerusalem. For this statement we 
have the authority of Red Jacket himself. On a journey with other 
chiefs to Washington, not far from the period of General Jackson's first 
inauguration to the Presidency, Red Jacket addressed a public meeting 
called to give him a reception at Geneva. In that speech he stated that 
his birthplace was near the west arm of the Keuka, so called from its re- 
semblance to a bended elbow. He further stated that he lived there with 
his parents till he was about twelve years old, when they removed to the 
Old Castle near Kanadasaga, and several years later to Conewagus. A 
sketch of that speech was reported by Roderick N. Morrison, for the 
Penn Yan Democrat, and Alfred Reed, then an apprentice in that office, 
was the printer who put it in type. These corroborating facts are given 
because it is alleged by Colonel William L,. Stone, in his Life of Red Jack- 
et, that his birthplace was Canoga, on the west bank of Cayuga Lake ; a 
statement rendered improbable, not only b}'^ the facts already stated, but 
by the further fact that Canoga was on the territory of the Cayugas. — 
Cleveland'' s History of Yates County, Vol. i. 



THE MILITARY HISTOIIY OF YATES COUNTY. 6 

fare, or for domestic use, and a few half-remembered uames 
of hill and lake and river, are all that is tangibly left us of 
the primeval lords of the forest and the plain. Even these 
are vanishing before the onward march of cultivation, and 
the echoes of his speech are lost in the tramp of coming gen- 
erations.* 

For a number of years previous to the Revolution, the In- 
dian agent for the Crown among the Six Nations was Sir 
William Johnson, an Irishman possessed of remarkable 
shrewdness. He resided at Johnson Hall, (in the present 
county of Fulton,) and dying a few months before the com- 
mencement of hostilities Avith the Mother Country, left his 
authority and estates to his son. Sir John Johnson, and to his 
son-in-law, Colonel Guy Johnson. The two Johnsons, his suc- 
cessors, being allied to the Crown both by interest and edu- 
cation, and having personal wrongs of their own to resent, 
took advantage of their influence with the Iroquois to insti- 
gate them to take up arms in behalf of the cause of the King 
of England against the American colonists. During the 
greater part of the struggle for independence, while the pa- 
triots were contending, often with varied success, against the 
armed hosts of Britain, the warriors of the Six Nations, 
(with the exception of the Oneidas and a part of the Tusca- 
roras) carried on a most distressing predatory warfare 
agaiust the border settlements. Houses were burned, stock 
destroyed, and the inhabitants either driven from their 
homes, murdered, or carried into captivity. At Wyoming 
and at Cherry Valley in 1778 massacres were perpetrated 
under circumstances of great cruelty. 

General Washington, in retaliation for these outrages, dis- 
patched an invading force into the Indian country in the 
summer of 177'J. The command of this army was given to 
General John Sullivan, an officer whose armed resistance to 
British authority antedated the battle of Lexington. Sulli- 
van's army marched through the Wyoming Valley to Tioga 
Point, and was there joined by a detachment under General 
James Clinton, which had advanced from Albany by way of 



* Address delivered by the Hou. John L. Lewis before the Yates Couuty 
Historical Society. February 4. 1860. 



4 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

the Mohawk and Susqiiehauiia rivers. The forces now 
united amounted to five thousand men. In subordinate 
command were several officers of tried abihty, notably Gen- 
erals Poor, Maxwell, and Hand, and Colonels Gansevoort, 
Butler, and Durbin. 

The Iroquois, with their Tory allies, in expectation of an 
attack, had strongly foi'titied themselves at Newtown, (near 
the site of the present city of Elmira.) They were com- 
manded by Joseph Brant, the famous Indian chieftain ; also 
in command were Sir John Johnson, Colonel Guy Johnson, 
Colonel John Butler, (a Connecticut Tory,) and his son, Ma- 
jor Walter Butler. On the 29tli of August was fought the 
Battle of Newtown, which resulted in the total defeat of the 
Indians. General Sullivan began to engage them by tiring 
his field-pieces at their breastworks, which he continued 
while he detached General Poor to the right, around the 
mountain, to fall upon their left fiank. Poor had to march 
a mile and a half in full view of the Indians and their asso- 
ciates, who penetrated his design. They waited, however, 
for his approach, but observing (that when his firing an- 
nounced his being engaged) other movements were made to- 
wards them, they quitted their works and betook themselves 
to a sudden and precipitate flight."'^" 

The loss of the Continentals in this action amounted to 
seven killed and fourteen wounded ; that of the enemy was 
never ascertained. The second day after the battle General 
Sullivan advanced to Catharine's Town. This place stood on 
the site of Havana,!" aud was so called from being then the 
residence of the noted ludian queen, Catharine Montour. 
Catharine's Town was set on fire by the troops and reduced to 
ashes. The Indians were so dispirited by their defeat at 
Newtown that they made no further efi'ective resistance to 
the progress of the army, under Sullivan, which destroyed 
the Indian villages and corn-fields and cut down the fruit 
trees along the line of march. 



* Gordon's Histor}- of the Auiericau Revolution, Vol. 3, New York, 
1794. 

fThe name of this village has been lately changed from Havana to 
Montour Falls. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 5 

From Knnadesaga, (on the site of Geneva,) which tlie army 
reached by marching northward along the east side of Sene- 
ca Lake, General Sullivan sent detachments in various direc- 
tions, which burned all the Indian towns to which they came, 
and laid waste the country. One of these detachments con- 
sisting of four hundred riflemen, advanced on the 9th of 
September to Kashoug creek, witliin the present boundaries 
of Yates County, and there destroj'ed a large Indian village 
with extensive fields of corn and great numbers of apple 
trees. The wigwams and all means of subsistence on the 
part of the Indians were completely annihilated. A portion 
of the apple trees only remained.*'' General Sullivan, in his 
official report, mentions this village as " Gotheseunquean,'' 
while in a diary of the expedition kept by one of his officers 
(Captain Fowler) the village is referred to as ^' Kashanmi- 
sa/i." W. L. Stone, in his "Life of Brant," says : "A detach- 
ment of 400 men was sent down on the west side of the lake 
to destro}' ' Gothesewujiiean,' and the plantations in the 
neighborhood." The site of the village destroyed is well un- 
derstood to be near the north line of the town of Benton and 
on a farm recently owned by W. W. Coe. As in previous 
instances, the inhabitants had fled before the approach of 
the troops, so that when the riflemen arrived at the village 
the}' found it abandoned. 

The objects of the campaign having been accomplished. 
General Sullivan returned to Easton in Pennsylvania, which 
he reached October 15tli, on his return to join the main ar- 
my. The expedition was more disastrous to the Indians 
than at first might appear. They returned to their black- 
ened homes and wasted corn-fields and looked with despair 
upon the waste and ruin bcfo]-e them. Thc}^ now began to 
feel the iro;i they had so ruthlessly thrust into the bosom of 
otliers. Mary Jemison (the White Woman) sa3's there was 
nothing left, not enough to keep a child. Again they 
wended their way to Niagara, where huts were built for them 
around the fort. The winter following was the coldest ever 
known and prevented the Indians going on their winter 
hunt. Cooped iip in their little huts and obliged to subsist 

* Cleveland's History of Yates County, Vol. i. 



G THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

on salted provisions, the scurvy broke out among them and 
hundreds of them died. Those the sword liad spared, the 
pestilence destroyed. '^^ 

The year that witnessed the signing of the Declaration of 
Independence is memorable for another, though less import- 
ant, event. In that year, Jemima Wilkinson, a young Avoiii- 
an residing in Cumberland, Khode Island, experienced, dur- 
ing a tit of sickness, an apparent suspension of life. After 
her r(^covery she professed to have been raised from the 
dead and to have been invested with divine attributes and 
authority to instruct mankind in religion. She called her- 
self the Public Universal Friend, and dui'ing her ministry 
succeeded in gaining many adherents, not only in lun' native 
State, but also in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and in Penn- 
sylvania, ])articularly in the vi(nnity of Philadelphia. She 
sc^tthxl with her followers in 17110 on the west side of Seneca 
Lake at City Hill, (in the now town of Torrey.) The resi- 
dence whi(^h she first occupied yet stands and is about two 
miles from Dresden. Subseipiently she moved within the 
present limits of the town of Jerusalem, where she died July 
1, 1819. Her tinal residence is yet standing on an elevation 
about three miles from Branchport. 

It is here proper to state that the final residence of the 
Friend (as she called herself) has also the distinction of hav- 
ing been nsed at the close of the Civil War as a Soldiers' 
Home. Tiie domicile was purchased at that time by John 
Alcooke, who claimed to be an English (Quaker. He col- 
lected a considerable number of disabled soldiers and made 
them a comfortable abode in the old residence of theFricuul. 
By appeals to the charity of the people, aid from the Sani- 
tar}' Commission, and other contributions, he was su]^porting 
iiis crippled veterans and paying for tlieir home when he 
suddenly died June 29, 18G6.i' His remains were first de- 
posited in the vaiilt on the place, but were subse(]nentl3' re- 
moved to the Lake View Cemetery at Penn Yan, where a fine 
monument stands to his memory. Alcooke was a man of 



*Historical Address of the Rev. David Craft, delivered on the comple- 
tion of the Battle Monument near Elniira, August 29, 1879. 
•[■Cleveland's History of Yates County, Vol. i. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATE8 COUNTY. 7 

imposing presence, and the Friend's place while under his 
control was a model of neatness and order.* 

One of the most prominent anionj^ the followers of the 
Friend, and one of the first to join her society, was James 
Parker, a native of South Kingston, llhode Island. His pa- 
rents were from Enj^land. His younger brother was Sir 
Peter Parker, of the British Navy, and with the rank of Ad- 
miral commanded the fleet which attacked Charleston with- 
out success early in the lievolutionary War. While he was 
earning his advancement among tlie English nobility in the 
service of the Crown, his brother, James Parker, was Captain 
of a military company in llhode Island, employed in the 
cause of Cohmial Independence. t Although James Parker 
was among the first of the Friend's followers, he afterward 
became one of her bitterest o]>pononts. Anotluu" of her dis- 
ciphis at an early date was (lenoral William Wall, who at- 
tempted to found a village at the foot of Crooked Lake, 
which village was to be known as SumnKirsite. The personal 
history of (leneral Wall is not known to any extent, but he 
was probably a militia officer during the Revolution. 

Among those who first settled in what is now Yates Coun- 
ty were the following Revolutionary soldiers : Samuel Ab- 
bey, Alexander Anderson, Isaac Andrews, (who was private 
secretary and aid-de-camp to General Washington,) Elisha 
Benedict, Elnathan Botsford, Elisha Brown, Daniel Brown, 
Samuel Buell and his son Cyrus Buell, Augustus Chidsey, 
John Cole, Achilles Comstock, AVilliam Corn well, Sr., Stephen 
Corwin, Ephraim Dains, Castle Dains, Joseph Finton, 
Captain Henry Green, John Greenman, James Harrington, 
Griffin B. Hazard, Richard Henderson, Rev. William Ho- 
bart, (who was a chaplain in the army,) Eliphalcit Hull, (who 
assisted in placing th(i great chain across the Hudson below 
West Point,) his brother Seth Hull, (who was a soldier un- 
der General Montgomery at the siege of Quebec,) Samuel 



* Charles St. John Nichols, who lost a leg at the taking of the Weldcn 
Railroad and who died in Washington in 1884, was for a time an inmate 
of this Home. He is remembered as having for a number of years kept 
a news stand in Pcnn Yan. 

t Cleveland's History of Yates County, Vol. i. 



8 THE MILITAKY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Jayne, Sr., Steplieu Kinney, James Knapp, (who took part 
in Sullivan's invasion,) William Lamport, Captain Thomas 
Lee, John Purely, Bryan Remer, John Remer, Nathaniel 
Rusco, Jacob Slniman, (who was at first a Hessian soldier, 
but afterwards served in the American array,) Captain Tru- 
man Spencer, Tewalt Swarts, James Ta} lor, Captain Nathan 
Teall, Captain William Thrall, Captain Lawrence ToAvnsend, 
(who was at the surrender of Burgoyne,) Enos Tubbs, 
Major, (afterwards General) Moses Van Canipen, Captain 
Amos C. West. Many citizens in our county can claim 
the distinction of being descended from the sturdy patriots 
who effectually aided the cause of Independence on the 
battle-fields of the Revolution, from Lexington to Yorktown. 



CHAPTER 11. 

Close of the Revolution — The Phelps and Gorhani Purchase — Captain 
Charles Williamson — The Genesee Country One Hunrlred Years Ago — 
British Insolence — The War of 1.S12 — Citizens of Yates County Who 
Fought in this War — Organization of Yates County — The War With 
Mexico — Soldiers of the War From Yates County — Results of the Mex- 
ican War. 

THE War of the RovoluticHi closed in 1783, the indepen- 
dence of tlie United States of America being that j'ear 
rehTctantly acknowledged by their ancient parent and recent 
enemy, England. Yielding only to force of circnmstances, 
the British Government chose, for several years afterward, 
to consider the treaty of peace as hardly more than an ar- 
mistice, and only waited a more favorable opportunity to 
bring the revolted colonies again under subjection. 

Peace having been proclaimed, the new States speedily 
settled their respective boundaries. Satisfactory treaties 
were also made with the Indian tribes. The State of Mas- 
sachusetts at that time claimed, however, under the grant 
made in her colonial charter, all the territory embraced 
within her boundaries, north and south, and extending west 
to the Pacific Ocean. The charter, which had been granted 
to the colony (afterward State) of New York, conflicted and 
interfered with these claims, and they were finally adjusted 
l)y commissioners assembled at Hartford, Conn., December 
1(J, 1780. Here it was agreed that Massachusetts, in return 
for the right of preemption of the soil from the Indians, 
should cede to New York the sovereignty of all that tract of 
land in the latter State lying west of what is now known as 
the Old Preemption Line. The following year the State of 
Massachusetts sold to a land company, of which Oliver 
Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham were the principal members, 
the whole of this tract, which has since been known as the 
" Phelps and Gorham Purchase." The south part of this 
tract was subsequently sold b}- Phelps and Gorham to 
Robert Morris (one of the signers of the Declaration of 



10 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Independence), who, through his agent, William Temple 
Franklin, a grandson of Benjamin Franklin, re-sold this part 
to three capitalists in London, namely: Sir William Pulte- 
ney, John Hornby, and Patrick Colquhoun. In 1792 Cap- 
tain Charles Williamson came over as agent for these capi- 
talists, and became a naturalized citizen for the purpose of 
holding a title to that tract of land in which they were in- 
terested. This enterprising man gave a new impetus to the 
development of the region, and under his direction and en- 
couragement many new settlements were established. A cir- 
cumstance, which occurred in 1794, may be mentioned in this 
connection. The British agents on the frontier still dreamed 
of repossessing the country, and, in defiance of the treaty, 
had kept possession of the Western posts. General John G. 
Simcoe, the Governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario), sent, 
in the summer of that year. Lieutenant (afterwards General) 
Roger H. Sheaffe (a renegade American), bearing a protest 
to Captain Williamson against the establishment of a settle- 
ment at Sodus, on Lake Ontario. It Avas claimed in this 
protest that the settlement named was on lands belonging to 
certain Indians, who were yet under the protection of the 
Crown. The protest, however, was treated by Captain 
Williamson with the contempt it deserved.* 

That part of the State in which our county is now in- 
cluded was known one hundred 3'ears ago as "The Genesee 
Country," and the work of transforming a wilderness into a 
prosperous and productive section had then only com- 
menced. At Geneva (then called Kanadesaga) there was a 
cluster of buildings occupied by Indian-traders and a few 
settlers. Jemima Wilkinson, with her small colony, was, 
upon her first location, upon the west bank of Seneca Lake, 
upon the Indian trail through the valley of the Susque- 
hanna, and across Western New York to Upper Canada, the 
primitive highwa}" of all this region. One or two white 
families had settled at Catharine's Town, at the head of * 
Seneca Lake. A wide region of wilderness separated the 
most northern and western settlements of Pennsylvania from 
all this region. Within the Genesee Country, other than the 

* Turner's History' of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 11 

small settlements at Geneva and the Friends' settlement, 
there were two or three Indian traders upon the Genesee 
lliver, a few white families who were squatters upon the 
Hats, one or two white families at Lewiston, one at Schlosser, 
a negro, with a squaw wife, at Tonawanda, an Indian inter- 
preter and two or three traders at the mouth of Bufl'alo 
Creek, and a negro and an Indian trader at the mouth of 
Cattaraugus Creek. Fort Niagara was a British garrison. 
All else was Seneca Indian occupancy.* 

England, since the successful termination of the revolt of 
her colonies, had persistently maintained a hostile attitude, 
and under a pretended right of search (which was no more 
than a right of the strongest), had forcibly taken many Amer- 
ican sailors from ships belonging to our own country, and 
compelled them to serve on British ships of war. Against 
these high-handed outrages Washington, Adams, and Jeffer- 
son had remonstrated in vain. The more than outrageous 
attack on the Chesapeake, during the administration of the 
latter President, aroused the public indignation to an exces- 
sive degree, and after the accession of Madison to the Presi- 
dency, a greater part of the people began to see that only 
by an appeal to arms was the National honor to be pre- 
served. There was, it is true, a strong anti-administration 
party, principally in the Eastern States, who, even after the 
commencement of hostilities, acted in a manner most unfav- 
orable to the American Government, and refused to believe 
otherwise than that the differences between the two coun- 
tries might have been amicably adjusted. Patience, how- 
ever, at least so far as the more patriotic Americans were 
concerned, had ceased to be a virtue, and war was declared. 

The declaration of war by America in June, 1812, seemed 
an act of sheer madness. The American navy consisted of 
a few frigates and sloops ; her army was a mass of half- 
drilled and half-armed recruits; the States themselves were 
divided on the question of war ; and Connecticut, with 
Massachusetts, refused to send either money or men.f 
Under such disadvantages did America contend for nearly 

* Turner's History of the Phelps and Gorhani Purchase, 
t Green's Short History of the Knglish People. 



12 THE MILITARY HISTORY OP YATES COUNTY. 

three years against a great and powerful nation, winning 
many victories, and effectually humbling Britain's boasted 
superiority on the seas. With onl}- a handful of ships to 
offer against superior force, our commanders, nevertheless, 
stood boldl}" out to sea and flung their flags of defiance to 
the breeze. The war on land was prosecuted with equal 
success. 

The engagements at Fort George, Fort Erie, Chippewa, and 
Lundy's Lane, may not have added territor}' to the posses- 
sions of the United States, but the}'^ were, next to Bunker 
Hill or Monmouth, some of the most important battles this 
country ever had. Old England also learned from these 
battles what kind of men she was fighting over here. 

The residents of Ontario County (then including Yates) 
were not backward in offering their services to their country 
at that time. A testimony to that effect is thiis given by a 
late distinguished jurist: "During the late war with Great 
Britain, the territor}^ now embraced in our county furnished 
a larger portion of oflicers and soldiers, who were in actual 
service, than any other portion of the State, except those 
immediately upon the frontiers."" Hardly an}' record, 
however, has been preserved from which can be learned the 
services they performed or of the battles in which they par- 
ticipated. The names, so far as known, are here given of 
those soldiers of the War of 1812 who resided in what is 
now Yates County: Samuel J. Ackley, Jeremiah B. An- 
drews (assistant surgeon), Daniel Baldwin, Jeremiah Bar- 
ber, Jr., Captain Thomas Barden, Dr. Euos Barnes (entered 
as a substitute,'!' and was promoted to regimental surgeon), 
Daniel Barton, Peter Bellis, William Bennett, James Blair, 
Cyrenius Blodgett, Cornelius Bogart, Robert McDowell 
Bo3'd, William Clark, Asa Cole, Gamaliel D. Conklin (a reg- 
ular). Dr. William Cornwell (surgeon's mate), Caleb Cowing, 
Niram Crane, Philip Culp, John Decker, Pierpont Dyer, 
Adolphus Eaton, Azariah Finch, Alanson Foster, Samuel 

*Address delivered by Uie Hon. John L- Lewis before the Yates Count}- 
Historical Society, February 4, i860. 

fThe United States Government in 1814 deemed it neccssar}- to draft 
100,000 men to end the war. As in the war of iS6i-'65, several persons 
who were drafted furnished substitutes. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 13 

Fiirman, Edward (Teuuug, Isaac Gulley, Amasa Holden 
(brigade tifo major), Auiasa Holden, Jr., Abel M. Hammond, 
Jedediab Haskell (served in the Fifteenth Horse Artillery), 
James Hazard, Elijah Higley, David Hill, Eliphalet Hull, Jr., 
Captain (afterwards General) Timothy Hurd, William John- 
son, Dr. Joshua Lee (surgeon in Colonel Avery Smith's reg- 
iment, and in that capacity was present at the battle of 
Queeuston,^' and was one of the first to cross the Niagara 
River in the discharge of his duties), Thomas Lee, Jr., Sher- 
man Lee, Peter Lamereaux, Isaac Lanning, Anthony H. 
Lewis, Robert Lyon, Cornelius Masten, John Moore, John 
Norcott, Janna Osgood, Zeldon Parrish, John Patterson, 
William L. Priest, John Pruuer, Isaac S. Purdy, Abijah 
Purdy, Red Jacket, Aaron Remer, AVilliam Reynolds, Henry 
Rogers, Asahel Russell, Nathan Sayre, Cornelius Sawyer, 
Robert Shearman, Morris F. She]3pard, Jonathan Sisson, 
Colonel Avery Smith, Ashler C. Thompson, Amos Tubbs, 
Henry Vrooman, Nathan Walton, George Wells, John W. 
Williams (who was for several months a prisoner in the 
hands of the enemy), William Wilson, Luther Win ants. Dr. 
AValter Wolcottt (surgeon's mate). Captain (afterwards Gen- 
eral) Abner Woodworth. 

Yates County was organized February 5, 1823, and was 
named in honor of Joseph C. Yates, then Governor of the 
State of New York. The towns of Barrington and Starkey 
were added to the county in 1826, and the town of Torrey 
was organized in 1851. Twenty-three years after the organ- 
ization of our county, war was declared by the United States 
against Mexico. The principal military operations in that 
war were the invasion of Northern Mexico by the American 
forces under General Taylor, and the landing at Vera Cruz 

*Tlie Battle of Quectistou was fought October 13, 1812. lu this en- 
gageiiiciit lyieuteuant-Colouel Wiufield Scott and Captaiu John E. Wool 
(afterwards famous generals), first distinguished themselves. General 
Brock, the commander of the British forces, was killed in this battle by a 
shot fired by an American soldier named Rol)ert Wolcott, who died only 
a few years ago at a very advanced age. 

t Roger Wolcott (an elder brother of Dr. Wolcott) was born in Connecti- 
cut, and settled in Canada previous to the War of 1812. During that war 
he commanded a company of Canadian militia. He afterwards removed 
to St. Charles, 111., where he died at the age of 90 in 1863. 



14 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

and the march to, and capture of, the city of Mexico by an 
army of ten thousand men commanded by General Scott. 

Among the vohinteers who served in the Mexican War 
were the following from Yates County: John V. Masten, 
James Miller, John Moore, and Henry B. Cornwell."''' The 
last-named soldier was a son of Dr. William Cornwell, and 
was wounded at the taking of the castle of Chapultepec, 
September 13, 1817, and died at Puebla of his wounds. 

The castle of Chapultepec stood on a high and precipitous 
hill, very steep and rocky on the south side, towards the 
Americans. On the west the slope was more gradual, but 
covered with dense woods and rough with rocks. Here, 
shielded by these, was a large force of Mexicans. 

At the earliest dawn the whole force of the American can- 
non was concentrated upon the walls of the castle, and at 
the west side storming parties were waiting anxiously for a 
breach to be made, by which they might carry it by assault. 
They groped their way from tree to tree and rock to rock, 
driving the Mexicans before them, when suddenly, on the 
crest of the hill, the whole force came out on the open space 
in the presence of ramparts frowning with cannon and mus- 
ketry. They continued to advance, returning only a few 
shots, but still drawing nearer and nearer. Presently an 
ensign, bearing the standard of his regiment, rushed forward 
to the rampart, a shout arose, and a few followed with lad- 
ders, placed them against the wall, and, with a cheer, 
bounded over. The Mexicans, taken by surprise, stood but 
a few minutes, then scrambled over the sides and down the 
precipitous rocks out of danger. 

The castle was a mass of ruins; so efl'ectual had been the 
shots and shells that it was battered to pieces. The follow- 
ing morning General Scott entered the city of Mexico, drew 
up his army on the Grand Plaza, and hoisted the Stars and 
Stripes over the National Palace. 

The war between the United States and Mexico forms an 



* William A. Coruwell, a brother of Heury B. Cornwell, also enlisted iu 
1849, with the rauk of Lieutenant, in a regiment raised iu New York and 
designed as part of the army of occupation in California. Lieutenant 
Cornwell sailed with his regiment around Cape Horn to California, and 
afterwards became a permanent resident of that State. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 15 

iuteresting epoch in American history, resulting, as it did, in 
the former country being lai'gely increased in territorial ex- 
tent and in the establishment of our supremacy on the Pa- 
cific coast. In this conflict, also, several subalterns, who 
were destined to afterward win enduring fame, took their first 
lessons in the art of war, lessons that were probably put to 
practical use in the greater conflict which was to follow. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 



:p^^I^T sECOisriD. 

The War Between the States. 
CHAPTER L 

vSeutiment in Yates County before and during the War for the Union. 

IT seems proper, before entering iipou a detailed account 
of the military operations participated in by those regi- 
ments in which Yates County was represented, to make 
some reference to certain events bearing on the anti-slavery 
sentiment, which sentiment prevailed to a greater or less ex- 
tent in this county from the time of its organization till the 
close of the Civil War in 1865. At the period, however, in 
which Yates was set off from Ontario County, slavery existed 
North as well as South, although gradual emancipation in 
the Northern States had already begun. Some few persons 
in Benton and vicinity then kept slaves in their families, but 
the slaves there owned were few in number. The town book 
of Benton contains the following record of the birth of a 
slave : " This will certify that Harriet, an infant slave, 
belonging to me at this time, was born the 20th of Sept., one 
thousand eight hundred and twenty-two. Certified by 
Matthew Cole. Benton, 18th March, 1823." 

The inhabitants of this part of the State at that time, as 
a rule, regarded slavery, if not with favor, at least with a 
passive indifference, but there were some among them whose 
idea in this respect was that slavery was a great evil, which 
should be abolished. The number holding this extreme 
view were small, but they were very outspoken and active 
in expressing their opinion. Among these, Henry Bradley, 
of Penn Yan, a merchant in high standing in the commun- 
ity, was the most prominent. He was a thorough opponent 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 17 

of that " peculiar institution," and many a fugitive slave by 
his aid reached safety and freedom. He lived to see human 
slavery legally abolished throughout the land. 

An exciting circumstance, which occurred in this county in 
1830, is here related as a reminiscence of the lirst encounter 
between our citizens and the slave power. In the summer of 
that year, the little village of Eddytown* was thrown into 
a state of wild excitement by an occurrence that happened 
in this wise : Several men were seen on horseback passing 
through the place on a full gallop. The people who saw 
them wondered and began to institute an inquiry as to their 
business. At length the astounding truth was reached. 
They were a couple of slavehoklers from Virginia, with 
their aids, in pursuit of some seven runaway slaves. The 
men who were in company with the owners of those 
slaves, and who had escorted them to find their where- 
abouts, were certain residents of this neighborhood, who 
cared more for their pecuniary benefit than for the claims of 
humanity. It was very common for people who had little 
reverence for the Golden Rule in those days to think they 
were doing God service to restore a colored man to bondage, 
especiall}' if they were well paid for doing so. The slave- 
holders and their assistants had been informed that three of 
the fugitives had been employed by Zenas P. Kelsey to work 
in the harvest field a short distance south of the village, and 
a fourth was employed up near the Bed Mill, known as the 
Carmichael Mill. Thither they hastened. Isaac Lanning, 
Patrick Quiun, and Elder Abner Chase, all strong anti- 
slavery men, saw them pass and hastened to the spot, hoping 
to foil their attempts at seizure. But they were too late. 
The slaveholders had the fugitives caught and hand-cuffed. 
Though the poor fellows looked with appealing eyes, the}' 
were powerless to aid. Yet if there was a loop hole any- 
where they were bound to find it. Lanning stepped up to 
the Virginians and demanded in a tone of authority what 
they were going to do with those colored men. " We are 
going to take them back where they belong, sir," the}' re- 
plied, to which Lanning said : "You won't take them back." 

*In the town of Starkey. 



18 THE MILITAEY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

These words, so defiantly spoken, put a new spirit in Mr. 
Kelsey, the employer of the slaves, and he pulled off his 
coat instantly. At this one of the slaveholders, with SAvord 
and pistol by his side, drew his sword from the sheath as if 
ready for a combat, but Lanning, not at all intimidated, said : 
" You had better put up your sword, for they are not going 
to be taken back till you show your authority. There has 
been kidnapping enough in the State of New York already." 
After talking awhile over the matter on all sides, the Virgin- 
ians consented to come back to the village and spend the 
night, and the next morning have the matter investigated. 
They dispatched two of their assistants to catch the one up 
by the mill, while the remainder, with their human property, 
returned to the hotel. Lanning, Quinn, and Chase returned 
also. The latter men knew that the remaining three fugitives 
were at work in Milo at the place of Silas Spink. The own- 
ers did not know where they were. Lanning immediately 
took his horse (a mare well known as "Old Black," noted 
for swiftness), and directed John Ro^^ce, son of his neighbor, 
Matthew Royce, to ride her to Milo and tell the slaves to 
flee if they valued their liberty. John led the horse to Dr. 
Walter Wolcott's barn, where he saddled the animal, then 
mounted, and, to avert suspicion, leisurely passed directly 
by the hotel where the slaveholders, with their booty, 
were just stopping. But no sooner was he out of sight, 
than he sped like the wind for Spink's farm. He reached 
the place and found the colored men mowing by the 
roadside. Hardly had they heard the ill-fated tidings than 
one of them leaped the fence at a bound. He told them to 
flee to Penn Y^an, inquire for Mr. Bradley, and he would tell 
them what to do. Having accomplished his errand, he re- 
turned. In the meantime the matter of the capture of the 
fugitive slaves had been noised around, and when night, 
with its murky folds, had fallen over the village, nearly two 
hundred people were assembled about the tavern. Many 
sympathized with the poor creatures, who had been cap- 
tured, and would have saved them had they dared. But 
the fine was heavy and the law* severe. Others took part 

*The old Fugitive Slave Act, passed in 1793. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 19 

with the property-owners, and said: " Good enough for the 
niggers." "They ought to be taken back." "It was the 
place for them." What did they know about Freedom ? " 
"The}' could not take care of themselves," etc. 

The four slaves ( the one at the Red Mill having been 
brought back ) were locked in a private room at the hotel 
and securely guarded. Lawyer Taylor,* then a resident of 
the village, was sent for. He came, and as he saw the multi- 
tude standing about, he inquired in a loud tone, " What is 
this mob doing here?" Reuben Royce' immediately an- 
swered, in a similar tone, " What is that you say, sir ? Call 
your neighbors a mob ? You will take that back or there 
will be trouble." Mr. Taylor at once modified his speech so 
as to make it satisfactory to Mr. Royce. The people, hear- 
ing that the matter was to be examined legally the next day, 
returned to their homes, many of them with feelings of in- 
dignation and shame that such laws had ever been enacted 
— laws that made it possible to buy and sell humanity — laws 
that were in exact contradiction to the law of God, which 
says, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 

The morning came, and although it was in the busy har- 
vest time, a large number gathered to see that no foul play 
was used. The matter being legally investigated before 
Isaac P. Seymour, a Justice of the Peace, it was shown by 
papers in their possession that the Southerners were the 
rightful owners of these unfortunate persons, and had a right, 
according to law, to take them back and treat them like dogs, 
if they wished. The slaveholders then made a diligent 
search for the remaining three who were on their way to 
freedom and safety. The slaveholders and their aids were 
guided, some in one direction, and some in another on pur- 
pose to mislead and confuse them. Two of their assistants 
were sent to Rochester on receiving a report, which proved 
to be false, that these three fugitives were at that place. The 
Virginians also commenced a suit against Mr. Spink, laying 



*James Taylor, a prominent lawj'cr, was born in Connecticut and re- 
sided for a number of )ears in Starkej^ and also in Penu Yan. He 
moved in 1857 to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he died in 1869, aged 
eighty years. 



20 THE MILITAKY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

heavy damages, and after waiting nearly a week, they left 
for the South. But one of the masters and one of the cap- 
tured slaves sickened and died in Ehnira. So one slave- 
holder, with three slaves, returned to Virginia. The suit 
against Mr. Spink was never tried, and was finally dropped. 
Thus ends the account of an event out of hundreds that 
might be chronicled that transpired during the terrible reign 
of slavery. 

Besides the anti-slavery men mentioned in connection 
with the above incident, there w^ere then in this part of the 
State several others* who held to the same idea, and as 
years passed on the opponents of slavery gradually grew in 
number. In 1841 1 the difference of opinion in regard to 
slavery had risen to such a height in Penn Yan as to effect a 
division in the Presbyterian and in the Methodist congrega- 
tions. A majority of the members of the Presbyterian 
Church withdrew and organized themselves into a society 
called the CoDgregationalists, under the counsel and direc- 
tion of their pastor, the Bev. Ovid Miner, who was an Abol- 
itionist of the most pronounced type. A portion of the 
Methodists likewise seceded, and formed themselves into 
what was known as the Wesleyan Societ}'. These two dis- 
senting societies each remained a number of years in organ- 
ization. 

The bitter political contests, arising from the encroach- 
ments of the slave power, and which continued for so many 
years, were regarded by the people of Yates County witli a 
certain degree of interest, and at length a feeling hostile to 
slavery became quite general among them. This feeling 
was intensified, when, in 1854, the passage of the Kansas- 
Nebraska act caused great excitement throughout the North. 
The residents of this county joined heartily in denouncing 
the measure. On the 5th of August of that year, in response 
to a call signed by over two hundred persons, a mass meet- 



* Prominent among the anti-slavery men at this period were Morris F. 
Sheppard, his son, Charles C. Sheppard, Myron Hamlin, Sanniel F. Cur- 
tis, and Joseph Elmendorf. 

tjohn Thomas, a well-known colored man, escaped from slaver}-, and 
came that year to Penn Yan, where he has since resided. 



THE MILITARY HISTOllY OF YATES COUNTY. 21 

iug" was held iu Peuu Yau, at wliicli resoliitious iu opposi- 
tion to the euactiueut were adopted. The adherents of the 
new party, styled the Republican, had by this time become 
so stroui; in number in this vicinity as to elect their county 
ticket in the fall of the year following.! The brutal and 
wanton attack made iu May, 1856, by Preston S. Brooks 
upon Charles Sumner, in his seat in the Senate, caused a 
high feeling of anger and resentment throughout the county. 
An indignation meeting was held June Gth at the Court 
House in Penn Yan, at which resolutions were adopted con- 
demning the outrage, and several well-timed speeches were 
made.+ At the Presidential election held that fall the vote 
cast in Yates County for Fremont was 2,91)0. When John 
Brown in 18511 made his raid into Virginia, which resulted in 
his capture, trial, and execution, words of sympathy were 
expressed in all parts of the county for the unfortunate old 
hero. James M. AVestcott, a local preacher residing in the 
town of Barrington, contributed to the Yates County Chron- 
icle an ode of sixteen verses commemorating the event.§ 

The Presidential election of 1860 II is well remembered as 
having been one of the most exciting in our country's his- 

*The meeting was addressed by Hon. Heury W. Taylor, of Canaudai- 
gua. Letters were read from Hou. B. F. Butler and Hon. Andrew Oliver, 
who were unable to attend, and the following delegates were appointed 
to attend the Saratoga Convention, held August iSth : Richard H. Wil- 
liams, General A. F. Whitaker, D. J. McMaster, Charles C. Sheppard, 
and Oliver Stark. 

t William S. Briggs, County Judge; Lewis B. Graham, County Clerk ; 
Daniel Lanning, Sheriff; Henry H. Gage, Member of Assembly; Wy- 
nans Bush, Coroner ; John J. Johnson, Justice of Sessions. 

I Edward J. Fowle was chairman of this meeting, and the speakers were 
Samuel H. Welles, Hon. Andrew Oliver, David W. Adams, and Henry 
M. Stewart. 

?Ia his ode, Elder Westcott, referring to the overwhelming force that 
come out against John Brown, wrote as follows: 

Now Maryland sends forth her troops — 

"Old Buck" sends the marines; 
Virginia, too, from out their cooj)s 
Called forth some queer machines. 

"Old Buck" was the nickname of President Buchanan. 

I| Charles C. Shej)pard, of Yates County, was one of the delegates to the 
Repul)lican National Convention that had that fall nominated Lincoln 
for the Presidency. 



22 THE MILITAEY HISTOEY OF YATES COUNTY. 

tory. The people of Yates County sliarecl to a considerable 
extent in the general animation. Wide-Awake Clubs were 
organized all over the county, and grand mass meetings 
were held. In this county 3,015 votes were cast that fall for 
Abraham Lincoln. The secession of South Carolina and of 
six other States came about soon after his election ; a South- 
ern Confederacy was established in the following February, 
and hostilities were commenced by the Secessionists by the 
attack on Fort Sumter in April, 1861. This act of war 
against the Nation electrified the loyal North, and the de- 
termination there expressed to uphold the government was 
promptly evinced by a movement, in which Yates County 
took no small part, known as the Great Northern Uprising. 
Immediately after the news of the President's proclama- 
tion, dated April 15tli and calling for 75,0(J0 men, reached 
Penn Yan, a war meeting was called in Washington Hall. 
General Alexander F. AVhitaker presided, and George R. 
Corn well was secretary. Several addresses were made, and 
the session continued till a late hour. A roll was presented 
and thirty-four names were obtained. A much larger gath- 
ering was held on the evening of April 25th, with bauds of 
music parading the streets and playing National airs. 
Resolutions were adopted to raise a company of volunteers, 
and recruits came forward freely. The Republican and 
Democratic Central Committees combined in a call for a 
county mass meeting and union assembly, which took place 
in the Court House Park on Saturday, April 27th. A proces- 
sion was formed, under the direction of General A. F. Whit- 
aker, aided by General George Wagener, and led by martial 
and brass bands.* In this parade, preceded by veterans of 

*The names are here given of the musicians whose sonl-iuspiring 
music was heard in Penn Yan and vicinity in war time. During this 
period the membership of the Brass Band was more than once changed 
by some musicians enlisting and others removing. Those who played in 
this band were as follows: George Fletcher Hopkins, leader, first E flat 
cornet; Edwin A nisbury, second E flat cornet; Albert Brigden, B flat 
cornet; George Norris, B flat cornet; A. Oliver Lewis, alto; EHsha Dur- 
fee, alto; Edward G. Hopkins, tenor ; George Baxter, tenor; George 
Ketchum, tuba; Damon Morse, baritone ; John Knapp, piccolo ; Rufus 
F. Scofield, base drum and cymbals, afterward tuba; William H. Glad- 
ding, snare drum, also tuba; Alouzo T. Lyon, snare drum; Thomas 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 23 

the War of 1812, marched the new recruits, under commaud 
of Mr. Coruwell, M'ho had beeu appoiuted Lieutenant. 
Morris Brown, Es(|., was president of the day, and over five 
thousand persons were in attendance on this occasion. 
Stirring addresses were delivered by Hon, Darius A. Ogden, 
Hon. Henry Spence, General A. F. Whitaker, and Abraham 
V. Harpending, Esq. At that meeting was appointed a 
finance committee, consisting of Messrs. Farley Holmes, 
Ebenezer B. Jones, Darius A. Ogden, and Charles C. Shep- 
pard, who circulated a subscription to raise funds to provide 
for the families of volunteers : The following vigilance com- 
mittee was also appointed : Moses W, Eastman, Farley 
Holmes, John L. Lewis, Jr., Nathaniel R. Long, Daniel 
Morris, and John Wilkinson. 

The military company now recruited, and which at this 
time was known as the "Keuka Rifles," assembled on the 
yth of May in Washington Hall, and was there inspected by 
Major John E. Bean, of Geneva, and mustered into tlie 
State service. An election was held for oflScers on the same 
day, resulting in the choice of James M. Letts as Captain. 
Mr. Cornwell, who had been active in raising this company, 
waived his claim for preference as an officer in favor of Ed- 
ward E. Root, the head clerk in his employ, who was elected 
First Lieutenant and William H. Long Second Lieutenant. 
The company continued to drill under its officers until orders 
were received to go into camp at Elmira on the 19th of 
May. On that day the company departed, and was escorted 
to the railroad depot by the Penn Yan firemen in uniform 
and a vast crowd of citizens. The company was presented 

Emery, base drum, (also played in the martial band) ; William Wood, 
base drum and cymbals (last part of the war.) The martial band, which 
rendered effective service in drumming up recruits, was composed at dif- 
ferent times of some of the following named persons: Captain William 
Stewart Judd, leader; Amasa Holden, Charles Holden, Rowland North- 
rup, Loren Swift, William VanNorman, Garrett Martin, George Caton, 
John Wheeler, fifers; Freeman G. Wheeler, Homer M. Townsend, James 
A. Belknap, Jerry Hall, Edward G. Elliott, snare drummers; Wallace 
Bctts, base drummer. The soldiers departing for the seat of war would 
usually march to the railroad station to the tunc of " Rally 'Round the 
Flag," changing soon to "The Girl I Left Behind Me," which the baud 
would play as the train was pulling out. 



24 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

by the ladies of Peun Yau with a beautiful flag, and was 
addressed on its departure by Hon. D. A. Ogden and E. B. 
Jones. A testament and a needle-case were also presented 
to each member. Tlie men on their arrival at Elmira were 
quartered in the Rev. Tiiomas K. Beecher's church, and on 
the 24th of May became Company I, of the Tliirty-third 
New York Volunteers, and with the history of this regiment 
from that date the history of the company is identified. 
Meanwhile other recruits volunteered, and, in squads con- 
taining a dozen or more men, left Penn Yan, some for Albany 
and some for Elmira, and there united with various com- 
mands. Letters soon began to come from the absent soldier 
boys, describing their experiences in the camp and on the 
battle-tield. Throughout Y^ates County love of the old flag 
became a passion, the Stars and Stripes appeared waving 
over manufactories and private residences, and pole-raisings 
were of almost daily occurence. At Peun Yan a hearty and 
gratifying welcome was given to Colonel R. F. Taylor, of the 
Thirty-third Regiment, on the occasion of his visit to this 
village on the 14tli of December. 

In March, 1802, the Rev. Frederick Starr, Jr., became 
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Penn Yan. A 
native by birth of the State of New York, he had, in the 
early part of his ministry, beginning in 1849, preached five 
years at Weston in Missouri, and there, by the boldness of 
his anti-slavery sentiments, had incurred the hatred of the 
lawless, slave-holding inhabitants of that section. Hearing 
of a plot to take his life, he left Weston by night and re- 
turned to Auburn, N. Y., where he had been a theological 
student. From Auburn he came to Penn Yau. To sincere 
and perfect piety in his chosen calling, he added great devo- 
tion to the cause of the Union. The whole county felt the 
influence of his true patriotism. Next to his God he loved 
his country. To awaken Christian patriotism ; to enlighten 
the public mind ; to All the ranks of the army ; to pay re- 
spects to the patriot dead, and make their graves preach a 
fresh love and devotion to our country and its institutions, 
he was always ready to go, far and near.* With all his un- 

* Memorial sermon, preached by the Rev. David Magie, January 20, 1867. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 25 

ceasing activity in the cause of National Unity, be found 
time to briuji; about an addition and improvement to his 
church edifice and to the lot on which it stood. He was a 
noble and talented young man, a "good and faithful ser- 
vant," a thorough patriot, a zealous Christian. At the close 
of the war he left Penn Yan and went back to Missouri, 
having, as he told his father before he commenced his first 
pastorate there, always felt that with him the obligation to 
go to a place was great in j)roportion to its necessity. He 
died in St. Louis, January 8, 18G7, in the forty-first year of 
his age." 

President Lincoln's second call for troops in 18G2 was 
promptly and cheerfully met in Yates County. The Board 
of Supervisors t unanimously resolved, July 26th, and again 



*Wheu the new Presbyterian Church edifice was erected in Penn Yan 
in 1879, a proposal to place a Starr memorial window in the church was 
brought up among the Building Committee, consisting of the following 
members: Charles V. Bush, George R. Cornwell, George Cramer, My- 
ron Hamlin, Theodore O. Hamlin, Charles Hunter, Charles G. Judd, 
Charles R. King, John H. Lown, Ephraim W. Mills, D. Henry Palmer 
(pastor), Augustus W. Prentiss, Charles C. vShcppard, John S. Sheppard, 
Franklin E. Smith, Charles W. Taylor, and Charles D. Welles. Nearly 
three hundred dollars were contributed for this purpose, and mostly by 
persons not of the congregation. The memorial window is in the front 
of the edifice, and on the wall below the window is placed a tablet, bear- 
ing the following inscription: 

In Mcmoriam. 1826. Rev. Frederick Starr. 1867. 

Pastor of this Church, 1862-1865. 

His courage as a Patriot, His zeal as a Philanthropist, were only equalled 

by his industry and fervor as a minister of Christ. 

t The following were the Vates County Supervisors during the war : 
Barrington, Peter H. Crosby, 1861 ; Jonathan Taylor, 1862; Asa P. 
Fish, 1863-64; Delazon J. Sunderlin, 1865 ; Bknton, Homer Marrincr, 
2861-62; Caleb Hazen, 1863-64; John Merrifield, 1865 ; Itai.y, Alden D. 
Fox, 1861-62-64-65; William vS. Green, 1863; JkruSAIvKM, J. Warren 
Brown, 1861-62; Daniel B. Tuthill, 186364; Ferris P. Hurd, 1865; Mid- 
DLKSKX, Alexander Bassett, 1861 ; Daniel Bostwick, 1862-63 ; Thomas 
Underwood, 1864-65 ; Mir^o, Charles Wagener, 1861 ; Melctiah H. Law- 
rence, 1862 ; John C. Scheetz, 1863-64-65; PoTTKR, John Halstead, 1861- 
62; Hiram Keeney, 1863; Henry Torrey, 1864; Whitford B. Wyman, 
1865 ; Starkhv, Hcrscliel W. Pierce, 1861 ; Anthony C. Harpcnding, 
1862-63; Hiland G. Wolcott, 1864; Ashbel HoUistcr, 1865; Torrkv, Ja- 
cob Van Deveutcr, 2d, 1861 ; Darius Baker, 1862; George W. Gardner, 
1863-64-65. 



26 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

on August 21st, " That the County Treasurer of Yates County 
be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed, to borrow and 
receive fifteen thousand dolhirs, to constitute a Volunteer 
Fund, from such parties as will advance the same, at such 
times and in such amounts as may be mutually agreed upon, 
and may be convenient, for the purpose of aiding in the en- 
listment of volunteers and the support of their families 
while in the military service of the United States and of the 
State of New York; and that said County Treasiirer is 
hereby directed to issue proper certificates thereof, payable 
when in funds thereof, with interest." War meetings were 
held, recruiting offices opened, and soldiers rapidly re- 
cruited and sent to the front to swell the ranks of the " three 
hundred thousand more." On the 29th of November the 
following resolution was adopted unanimously by the Board 
of Supervisors: "Resolved, That the sum of thirty thous- 
and six hundred and fifty dollars be levied upon the County 
of Yates, collected and paid into the treasury, to be ex- 
pended, so far as necessary therefor, in payment of the cer- 
tificates issued by the County Treasurer, in pursuance of 
the resolution of this Board, adopted July 26th and August 
21st, 1862, with the interest thereon ; the residue, after pay- 
ing such certificates, to constitute a Volunteer Fund, for the 
payment of bounties and the support of families of volun- 
teers, according to the rules and regulations established by 
this Board, at its special meeting, on the 21st day of August, 
1862." 

In April, 1863, the Twenty-fifth Provost Marshal District, 
comprising the counties of Y'^ates, Ontario, and Livingston, 
was organized, with headquarters at Canandaigua. The En- 
rolling Board consisted of Captain William T. liemer, Pro- 
vost-Marshal ; Dr. Zerah H. Blake, Surgeon; and Jacob .A. 
Mead, Commissioner. Captain Ralph T. Wood was ap- 
pointed Chief Clerk and George N. Hicks, John O. Wake- 
man, William Hildreth, and Alonzo Snyder, Deputy-Mar- 
shals. The work of enrolling all persons liable to a draft, 
between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, was at once com- 
menced, and the first draft affecting Yates County took place 
July 31st at Canandaigua, under the direction of the Provost 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 27 

Marshal. The drafting wheel, which was hollow, was turned 
by Deputy Marshal Wakemaii, of Peun Yau. At every rev- 
olution of the wheel a card was taken out by a blind man, 
(who was also blindfolded as the law directed) and the name 
called off by the Commissioner. Three companies of militia, 
one from Peun Yan and two from Rochester, were stationed 
on guard. The number of men in Yates County at that time 
drafted were 572. Of these a number were exemjited for 
physical reasons, several were exempted for other causes, 
some personally provided substitutes, and 208 paid each a 
commutation of $300. On the 4tli of December the Board 
of Supervisors, with the object of providing for subsecpient 
drafts, and to encourage volunteering, resolved unanimously, 
"That the county of Yates pay $300 to each person who 
shall hereafter volunteer into the service of the United 
States for the term of three years or during the war, and be 
mustered into the service to the credit of this county ; and 
the like sum of $300 to each man who shall be drafted and 
serve himself or furnish a substitute to the extent of the 
quota of this county." For the payment of these bounties 
the Board resolved, "That the sum of twenty-eight thousand 
dollars be assessed, levied, and collected upon the county," 
and that the county Treasurer be authorized "To issue 
Bonds or Scrip of the County of Yates, from time to time, and 
as the necessities may require, in sums of not less than fifty 
dollars, with annual interest from the date of their issue, to 
the amount of eighty-four thousand dollars; said Bonds or 
Scrip to be negotiated by said Treasurer, and the money re- 
ceived thereon by him, and that the amount of money ob- 
tained thereon constitute a fund, from which the said volun- 
teers or drafted men shall be paid." The following were 
ai)pointed as a Volunteer Committee to carry these resolu- 
tions into effect: James Burns, County Treasurer, John C. 
Scheetz, Supervisor from Milo, and Lewis B. Graham, Clerk 
of the Board. The times of payment of these Bonds were 
designated as follows: one-third on the 15th of February 
18C5 and one-third on the 15th of February 18GG. The 
amount of issue was subsecpiently increased to 1135,000 by 
a resolution passed by the Board of Supervisors August 3, 



28 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

1864, aud a further increase to $145,000 was unanimously 
resolved by the Board on the 31st of December of the same 
year. The time for payment, by thirds, of the new issues 
required was also extended to February 15, 1807 and to 
February 15, 1868. Liberal bounties to recruits were like- 
wise voted by the different towns. At the meeting held De- 
cember 31, 1861, Benjamin L. Hoyt was appointed general 
recruiting agent for the county, to act under the direction of 
the Board. Charles C. Miller and Charles Kelly were also 
appointed resruifcing agents on the Ufch of January, 1865. 

The number of men raised by the later drafts and provided 
for in the foregoing resolutions were 576'^' in the second and 
third drafts aud 253 in the fourth. For each man drafted 
three years of service were duly credited to the County by 
the State, including that of the men held by the first draft 
and who had then provided personally for the quota, the 
succeeding drafts being tilled at the County's expense. In 
1865 Yates County received from the State Bounty Loan 
$192,000, to pay the expenses of the last draft and $200 a 
year on 307 years of excess from preceding drafts. The re- 
ceipt of all this amount was reported bv the Volunteer Com- 
mittee at that time as follows: "The $130,600 paid for boun- 
ties has been refunded to the County by the State, also the 
sum of $61,100 has been received for excess of years of ser- 
vice on former calls." 

Little Yates, as may be observed, was as strong in her de- 
votion to the Union cause as any locality in State or na- 
tion. t There were a few exceptions, where ignorance, stu- 

* The Yates Couuty Ckrouick of July 14, 1864, cotitaiued the following 
interesting item of news: "Provost-Marshal Renier, Surgeon Blake, aud 
Commissioner Mead, composing the enrolling board of the 25tli District, 
held forth at the Court House on Saturday and Monday last. Some 400 
to 500 applications were made to be struck from the enrollment. Of 
those 260 were struck off for various reasons, but more on account of a 
lack of teeth than from any other cause." 

fOn the 6th of June, 1863, a branch of the National Loyal League was 
established at Penu Yan. Thomas H. Locke, Esq., was made President 
of the Penn Yan League. A branch was also established at Bellona by 
Hon. Samuel Jayne and others, and in the town of Harrington by Joseph 
F. Crosby and others. The follovying pledge was signed by the members: 
" We pledge ourselves to unconditional loyalty to the Government of the 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 29 

pidity, or <a lack of self-rospect warped men out of line and 
let them siuk from respectable notice. Their influence then 
was lighter than air, and .since that time the class to which 
they belonged have not been trusted by either those who 
fought for or against the flag. During the war the County 
was represented in the Assembly as follows : Gilbert Slierer, 
18G1; Darius A. Ogden, 18G2; Guy Shaw, 1863; Oren G. 
Loomis, 18(14 ; Eben S. Smith, 1805. In 1862 and again in 
1864, Hon. Daniel Morris was elected to Congress from the 
Twenty-fifth District, embracing the counties of Ontario, Liv- 
ingston, and Yates. President Lincoln received 3,036 votes 
in Yates County, when re-elected in 1864." The voice of 
the press of the County, from the beginning to the end of 
the war, was of unswerving loyalty to the National Govern- 
ment.i" 

The efforts of the noble Avomen of our County to alleviate 
the hardships incident to soldier life cannot be too highly 
commended. A Soldiers' Aid Society,:]: comprising over one 

United States in its efforts to suppress the reliellion, and to spare no en- 
deavors to maintain unimpaired the national unity, Ijoth in principle and 
territorial boundary." 

* In August 1864 Hon. John Cochrane, of New York city, formerly 
Colonel of the New York Chasseurs, and later promoted Brigadier-Gener- 
al in the Army of the Potomac, but at this time Attorney-General of the 
State of New York, came to Penu Yan and remained several days, the 
guest of John D. Wolcott, Esq. General Cochrane had a short time be- 
fore received the nomination for Vice-President on the ticket with Gen- 
eral Fremont, but both candidates ultimately withdrew from the field. 
He made during his stay in Penu Yan several speeches, advocating a vig- 
orous prosecution of the war. 

t The newspapers published in Yates County in war time were the 
Yates County Chronicle, conducted I)y Stafford C. Cleveland ; the Penu 
Yan Democrat, conducted during the first two years of the war by Mc- 
Connell & Stanton, {V^\ McCoimeil and Warren J. Stanton,) and during 
the last two years by George D. A. Bridgman ; and the Dundee Record, 
conducted at first by David S. Bruncr, then for about six mouths by 
George D. A. Bridgman, antl afterwards by James M. Westcott. 

X This Society, on its organization, October 15, 1861, elected the follow- 
ing officers: President, Mrs. Mary C. Porter; Vice-President, Mrs. Maria 
C. Brown ; Secretary, Mrs. Mary Wardwell ; Treasurer, Mrs. Judith Og- 
den. In March 1.S62, Mrs. Wardwell and Mrs. Ogden having resigned. 
Miss Mary E- Curtis was elected Secretary and Treasurer. On October 
15, 1S62, officers were elected as follows: President, Mrs. Maria C Brown; 



30 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

hundred ladies, was organized in Penu Yan, October 15, 
1861, as an auxiliary to the United States Sanitary Commis- 
sion. By their exertions, blankets, mittens, socks, and other 
necessary and useful articles Avere collected and sent to the 
soldiers at the front. Even the little girls* became interested 
and eagerly assisted in the work of preparing lint, banda- 
ges, and other good things for the sick and wounded soldiers 
in the hospitals. 

Yates County joined heartily in the general exultation 
throughout the North on the occasion of the successful is- 
sue of the Appomattox campaign. t The great event was 
celebrated on the lltli of April, 18H5, at Penn Yan by a grand 

Vice-President, Mrs. Mary Franklin ; Secretary and Treasurer, Miss Mary 
E. Curtis. These ladies were retained in office until the close of the war. 
The Society received in cash contributions to June 7, 1865 13,025.32, ad- 
ded to which, the young girls belonging to the Alert Club collected II744.09, 
making a monthly average of $57.23. Among the articles sent to the 
soldiers in the hospital were 369 gallons of pickles, 2,188 lbs. of dried 
fruit, 222 bottles of liquors, 281 cans of fruit. 7,265 yards of cloth were 
made into garments by the Society and 5,220 garments were sent to the 
U. S. Sanitary and Christian Commissions. There were also sent to the 
soldiers 119 packages (boxes and barrels,) averaging nearly three per 
month. The last Society meeting was held May 30, 1865. 

*The following letter, received Ijy one of these little girls in Penn Yan, 
speaks for itself: 

Fort Foote, Md., July 10, 1865. 
Miss Abbie K. Wolcott. 

My good little girl : — As you very politely asked the finder of your let- 
ter and fixings sent to the soldiers last March, to answer you and let 5'ou 
kuow where and by whom found, I will comply with your wishes. 

I am at work in a hospital, where there is a great number of sick sol- 
diers. Yesterday I was looking over some things that came from New 
York, for the boys, and found your things nicely packed away in a packet 
all safe. I think you must l)e a very smart little girl to do so much 
work. 

If you would like to hear from the soldiers I will write you a long letter 
when I have time. If not, you can just tell me so. Good bje. Accept 
this from a good friend and well-wisher of little girls. 

Dr. R. L,. Johnson, 

Fort Foote, Maryland. 

t The joy of the North was unbounded over this great victory. Bon- 
fires, illuminations, and the firing of cannon attested the universal de- 
light, while Grant became the idol of the Nation. — Headlefs History of 
the Great Rebellion, Vol. 2. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 31 

parade formed under the direction of General A. F. Wliita- 
ker, with the foUowing aids: Messrs. Charles F. Riidgers, 
Henry C. Hermans, Homer W. Randall, and George Y. East- 
man. Amid cheers from the multitude and the booming of 
cannon, the procession moved through the principal streets, 
presenting throughout its whole length a grand and pleasing 
display. The Penn Yan Brass Band, an excellent baud of 
martial music, fire companies, and their engines, and the Ke- 
uka Hose Company, in its new rod attire, made a noteworthy 
attraction. Cirriage^, with the clergy and orators of the 
day and citizens in carriage-?, lengthened out the line of 
march, while a slave whipping post" was carried, as in tri- 
umph, on a cart in the middle of the procession. Congrat- 
ulatory speeches were delivered from convenient speaking 
stands by Hon. Daaiel Morris, Hon. M. H. Lawrence, Hon. 
D. A. Og<len, R3v. Frederick Starr, Jr., Samuel H. Welles, 
E-iip, H. M. Stevv.irt, Esq., B3njamin Joy, and others. The 
evening wiis made as light as dny by the many bon-tires that 
were kindled, the houses, stores, and shops were generally 
illuminated, and there was a splendid exhibition of fire- 
works. 

But in the midst of this rejoicing, and on the same even- 
ing that the streets of Penn Yau were ablaze with illumina- 
tions, the direful deed that deprived the Nation of her Chief 
Magistrate was perpetrated in the National Capital. When 
the news of his tragic death reached Penn Yan the residents 
were struck with the deepest sorrow. The innumerable flags 
that were waving to the breeze were half-masted, all business 
was suspended, and stores and private residences were 
draped in black. The County Court and Court of Sessions 
at once adjourned. On the following Sabbath the Rev. Mr. 
Starr preached a sermon eulogistic of the late President, the 
deep pathos of his remarks at times moving the congregation 
to tears. Imposing funeral ceremonies were observed in 
this village on Tuesday, April 19th. At eleven o'clock on 
that day a solemn procession was formed on Main street 
and moved in the following order : 



* Tills whipping post was brouglit from Norfolk, Va., bj' Sergeant 
Charles C. Miller, and is now in the Sloan Post room at Penn Yan. 



32 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OP YATES COUNTY. 



Captain Charles F. Rudgers, Marshal. 

(mounted.) 

Captain Charles Kelly, Aid. Lieutenant George Titus, Aid. 

(mounted.) (mounted.) 

Martial Band with Muffled Drums. 

(Playing the Dead March.) 

Military Escort, with Arms Reversed, under Command of Captain William 

W. Eastman. 



Pall Bearers. 
(Civil Officers.) 
Hon. Henry Welles, 
Hon. William S. Briggs, 
Hon.- Daniel Morris, 
John D. Wolcott, Esq., 
James Burns, Esq., 
Joseph F. Crosby, Esq., 
Alfred Reed, Esq., 
Lewis B. Graham, Esq. 



FUNERAL 



CAR. 



Pall Bearers. 
(Military.) 
Gen. A. F. Whitaker, 
Gen. George Wagener, 
Col. B. L. Hoyt, 
Col. James Conley, 
Capt. P. K. Deyo, 
Capt. M. S. Hicks, 
Capt. Elias V. Ruger, 
Lieut. S. Hotchkiss. 



[The Funeral Car was beautifully decorated with rosettes of crape and 

draped with a large National Flag, and was drawn by four 

white horses driven by Charles Shearman.] 

Returned Union Soldiers, Charles C. Miller in charge. 

John W. Green, a returned Anderson ville prisoner, in a carriage driven 

by Perley P. Curtis. 

Clergy in Carriage. 

President and Trustees of the Village, in Carriage. 

Masonic Order. 

Citizens in Carriages. 

The processiou proceeded from the place of formation in 
frout of Bush's Hall, (now Cornwell's Opera House,) to Court 
street, thence to Liberty street and down Liberty street to 
Elm street, thence to Main street and up Main street to the 
Court House Park. During the march of the procession 
minnte guns were fired and the church bells tolled. At the 
Court House Park the exercises commenced b}' singing by 
the Methodist Choir of a dirge beginning with the words, 
" O, Weep Ye for Lincoln," followed by an appropriate 
discourse by the Eev. Daniel D. Buck. An address was 
then delivered by the Rev. Frederick Starr, Jr., who, in the 
course of his remarks, presented the case of the returned 
Union prisoner, John W. Green (late of Company G, Eighty- 
fifth Regiment,) whose emaciated form spoke more eloquent- 
ly than words of the hardship and starvation he had expe- 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 33 

rienced. The Rev. Mr. Buck read a poem entitled "In 
Memory of Onr Beloved President," wliicli was written for 
the occasion, and Elder John G. Gulick pronounced the bene- 
diction. The large assemblage, deeply impressed with the 
solemnities of the day, then dispersed. 

The celebration of the Eighty-ninth Anniversary of Amer- 
ican Independence, held at Penn Yan, July 4, 18G5, was 
made by the citizens of Yates County the occasion, of a 
grand reception to the soldiers who had returned from the 
war. The President of the Day was Captain Peter K. Deyo, 
of the One Hundred and Second Regiment; the Chief Mar- 
shal was Captain Martin S. Hicks, of the One Hundred and 
Forty-eighth Regiment, and his Assistants were Captains 
Meletiah H. Lawrence, Jr., and Richard A. Bassett, both of 
the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment. The Chief 
Marshal and his Assistants led the procession, composed 
mainly of Veterans, and which was remarkably fine. An at- 
tractive feature of the parade was the grand National Car, 
arranged and furnished by George R. Cornwell, and contain- 
ing thirty-six beaiitiful young ladies, representing the thirty- 
six States of the Union. The singing by the young ladies 
and the music by the bands were all excellent. The exer- 
cises of the day were observed in the grove on Sheppard 
street, and were as follows : Prayer by the Rev. J. G. Gulick. 
Reading of the Declaration of Independence by Prof, Winsor 
Scofield. Oration by the Rev. Ezekiel G. Robinson, D. D., 
of Rochester. Benediction ' by the Rev. Edwin P. Brig- 
ham. The procession then re-formed and proceeded to the 
Court House Park, where the ladies of Penn Yan, aided by 
the generous contributions of the people, had provided a 
bountiful dinner. The entrance to the Park was decorated 
with evergreens and inscribed, "Welcome Home," in letters 
neatly wrought with evergreen leaves. Nearly five hundred 
soldiers, with many of their wives, partook of the grand re- 
past so generously set before them. A gorgeous pyrotech- 
nic display was exhibited on the Fair Grounds in the even- 
ing. 

A large number of the Yates County soldiers had by this 
time arrived in safety, and more were expected. But many 



34 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

of their comrades who went with them to the front never 
returned. Tliey had fallen at Gettysburg and at Lookout 
Mountain, in the Wilderness and at Cold Harbor, at Peters- 
burg and in the valley of the Shenandoah. The soldiers of 
our Coimty, iu the different regiments to which they be- 
longed, performed good and valiant service, and made for 
themselves a glorious record which is given in the succeed- 
ing chapters. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Thirty-third Regiment of Infantry. 

ONE of the first regiments to go to the front was the Thir- 
tj-third New York Vohinteers, which was recruited b}'^ 
companies as follows: A, C, and K" in Seneca County; B in 
Wajne County ; D and H in Ontario County ; E and F in 
Livingston County ; G in Erie County, and I in Yates Coun- 
ty. The latter Company, which was first known as the "Ke- 
uka Rifles," arrived in Elmira from Penn Yan on the 18th of 
May, 1861. Eight of the other companies above mentioned 
had already arrived in Elmira, then an ordinary place of ren- 
dezvous for troops going to the front. The officers of these 
companies had met on May 17th, and decided upon forming 
themselves into a regiment, the two other companies after- 
ward joining them. The organization of the new regiment 
was rendered complete by the election of officers on the 21st 
of May. Robert F. Taylor, of Rochester, a gentleman of 
war- like taste and ability, who had served in Mexico, was ap- 
pointed Colonel. The other field and staflf officers then 
elected were : Lieutenant- Colon el, Calvin Walker, Geneva ; 
Major, Robert J. Mann, Seneca Falls ; Adjutant, Charles T. 
Sutton, New York city ; Quartermaster, H. L. Suydam, Gen- 
eva; Chaplain, Rev. George N. Chene}',!" Rochester; Surgeon, 
T. Rush Spencer. 

The Thirty-third Regiment, when organized, was assigned 



* Company K, Captain Patrick McGraw, was composed of Irish Vol- 
unteers. Captain McCxraw had previously been for about fifteen years in 
the service of Her Majesty, (jueen Victoria. He received, on the depart- 
ure of the Companj' from Seneca F'alls, a beautiful sword, the presenta- 
tion speech being made by the Rev. Edward McGowan, afterwards pastor 
of St. Michael's Church, at Penn Yan. 

t Resigned Dec. i, i86i. Afterwards was pastor at Branchport, where 
he died June 12, 1863. 



36 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

to barracks in Southport,"' where it remained until the de- 
parture for Washington. An interesting event of the sojourn 
in Ehnira was the reception of a regimental flag from the 
patriotic ladies of Cauandaigua. The regiment, being formed 
in a hollow square, Mrs. Chesebro, with a few felicitous re- 
marks, presented the banner to Colonel Taylor, who, in a 
brief speech, expressed the thanks of himself and command 
for the beautiful gift, promising that it should never be dis- 
honored or disgraced. Chaplain Cheney, also in response, 
delivered an able and eloquent address to the delegation. 
This flag was made of the finest blue silk, bearing upon one 
side the coat of arms of the State of New York and on the 
reverse the seal of the county of Ontario, adopted in 1790. 
Over the seal appeared in bold gilt letters the words, " On- 
tario County Volunteers." Surmounting the stafl' was a 
highly finished carved eagle with extended pinions, the whole 
forming one of the most elegant battle-flags ever wrought by 
fair hands. On the 3d of July the regiment was mustered 
by companies into the United States service for two years 
by Captain Sitgreaves, a regular officer. Five days later the 
command started for Washington and was assigned on arri- 
val to Camp Granger, about two and one-half miles from 
the city. John Gregg Wolcott, of Company I, received (Ju- 
ly 11th) at Camp Granger the promotion from private to as- 
sistant surgeon. While the regiment was here encamped, 
occurred the disastrous battle of Bull Run, which was fought 
on the 21st of July. The distant sound of cannon was, all 
that day, distinctly heard in the camp. Toward evening the 
Thirty-third, along with several other regiments, received 
marching orders, but had proceeded no further than the 
Treasury Department, when the orders were countermanded. 
William Riker, Sergeant, Company I, died at Camp Granger 
on August 28th. t The regiment took up a new position at 

*The barracks were known as No. 5. While quartered here numerous 
gifts were sent from Penn Yan to the members of Company I. A mem- 
ber of tliis company, writing home, says, "O, great guns! the boys have 
just received a lot of apples from Penn Yan and they are trying to raise 
the roof from the building with their cheers for George H. Lapham." 

t William Rikcr was the first soldier from Yates County, who died in 
the service. On Saturday the 31st inst., the remains of Sergeant Rikerar- 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 37 

Cauip Lyon, near Chain Bridge, and was here brigaded for 
the first time, being placed together with the Third Vermont 
and the Sixth Maine, under the command of General W. F. 
Smith. On the 3d of September the entire brigade crossed 
the Long Bridge into Virginia. The Thirty-third first occu- 
pied Camp Advance, changing soon after for Camp Ethan 
Allen. While at the latter camp the regiment had its first 
skirmish with the enemy. Camp Griffin was the next place 
of residence, and while here occurred at Bailey's Cross- 
Roads a grand review of the army by General McClellan, 
attended also by President Lincoln and other distinguished 
personages. James M. Letts resigned December 31st, and 
was succeeded by Edward E. Root as Captain of Company 

An advance on Richmond along the peninsula, between 
the York and James rivers, having been decided upon, the 
Thirty-third Regiment embarked at Alexandria on March 23, 
18G2, and proceeded by transport to Fortress Monroe. Com- 
pany I went, with five other companies of the same regi- 
ment, on board the steamer Metamora, previously employed 
on the Hudson River, and the entire command was disem- 
barked at Old Point Comfort in the forenoon of the follow- 
ing day. Passing through Hamj^iton, then in ruins, the 
Thirty-third weut into camp about four miles distant on the 
James River. Yorktownt was invested on the 4th of April, 
but hardly had the siege commenced when contrabands 
brought the intelligence that the enemy had evacuated the 
place. The Army of the Potomac followed in pursuit of the 
retreating Confederates, and on Monday, May 5th, was fought 
the battle of Williamsburg. In the beginning of the action 
three companies of the Thirty-third (Company A, Captain 

rived in Peuu Yau in charge of Samuel R. Tuell, brother-in-law of the de- 
ceased. A large and impressive funeral was held in the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, and the remains were escorted to the cemetery by a special 
guard of honor, consisting of two companies of local militia and the Penn 
Yan firemen. 

*At Camp GrifTin, William Humphrey and Augustus F. Murdock (pri- 
vates in Company I) died, the former being accidentally killed. 

t Yorktown had already an historical interest from its being the scene 
of the surrender of Cornwallis eighty years before. 



38 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

George M. Guioii, afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel of the One 
Hundred and Forty-eiglitli Regiment, N. Y. V., Company D, 
Lieutenant George VV. Brown commanding ; and Company 
F, Captain James M. McNair,) with regimental colors and 
color-guard, were ordered to occupy a redoubt a short dis- 
tance from the enemy. This was quickly done amid a heavy 
fire of artillery and musketry, and the beautiful banner re- 
mained waving from the battlements throughout the tierce 
conflict, torn and tattered for the first time by shot and shell. 
Company C, Captain Chester H. Cole ; Company E, Captain 
Wilson E. Warford ; Company H, Captain Alexander H. 
Drake; and Company I, Captain Edward E. Root, were de- 
ployed by Colonel Taylor as skirmishers. The remaining 
companies of the regiment, (Company B, Captain Josiah J. 
White ; Company G, Captain Theodore B. Hamilton ; and 
Company K, an Irish Company, Captain Patrick McGraw,) 
were stationed on guard duty, under command of Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Joseph W. Corning. All day the fight con- 
tinued, and towards night a sudden and furious attack was 
made upon Hancock's position, then occupied in part by the 
Thirty-third. Companies A, D, and F, were ordered out of 
the redoubt into line of battle, as the Confederates came 
rushing on, shouting "Bull Run! Bull Run! That flag is 
ours!" The enemy's flying artillery also moved forward and 
discharged shot and shell in quick succession. Lieutenant 
Brown, of Company D, and several other brave men belong- 
ing to the Thirty-third, had already fallen, mortally 
wounded ; the cannoniers, with their guns, and members of 
other regiments, were hurrying back to escape, while the 
right and left of the Federal line were wavering, and all 
seemed lost. 

At this critical moment the Lieutenant Colonel, turning to 
Colonel Taylor, (who had just arrived from the skirmish 
line,) remarked, " Nothing but a charge can check them." 
"A charge it shall be," he replied, and waving his sword 
aloft, shouted, " Forward, men !" " Charge, bayonets !" added 
Lieutenant-Colonel Corning, and the Thirty- third sprang 
forward on the double quick, when its gallant action was im- 
itated by several regiments along the line. Alarmed at this 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 39 

sudden couutei-cliaii^o, the euemj^ turned and ran in confu- 
sion, while the Tliirty-third poured volley after volley upon 
the Confederates as they rapidly retreated over the plain. 
This daring exploit of the regiment decided the fortunes of 
the day and changed a seeming defeat into a substantial vic- 
tory. Company I, commanded by Captain Root, and which, 
with Companies C, E, and H, was on the skirmish line at 
this time, encountered and tired upon a party of Confeder- 
ates, who, supposing our soldiers to be friends, cried out, 
"Don't fire, you are shooting your own men." Captain 
Root ordered them to surrender, and they were all made 
prisoners, much to their surprise and chagrin. One of their 
officers attempted to escape, but Captain Root started after 
him and compelled him to deliver up his sword. Other 
prisoners were taken, in all to the number of forty, when 
Captain Root, considering that he had his hands full, re- 
turned to the redoubt with his company of thirty-eight men.* 
Captain Drake, of Company H, unfortunately became sep- 
arated, in the woods, from the rest of the troops, and being 
surrounded by the enemy, was obliged to surrender with 



* David W. Judd, iu his "Story of the 33d N. Y. Vols.," says twenty- 
seven, but he has evidently understated the number. Mr. Peter Mead, of 
Penu Yan, who, at the time of the battle, was Sergeant in Company I, 
gives the number as thirty-eight. To give the exact number is a difficult 
matter, as several belonging to this Company were on guard, or other 
duty, or in tins hospital. Sergeant Mead, (to the best of his recollection, 
as he said,) mentioned the names of the thirty-eight heroes who were on 
the skirmish line, as follows : Edward E. Root, Captain ; Charles Howe, 
Lieutenant ; George Brennan. Orderly Sergeant ; Peter Mead, David A. 
Cook, John W. Durham, Sergeants ; Thomas Hunter, Corporal; Privates, 
Dorr Barber, Patrick Brennan, Augustus A. Chidsey, Charles Comstock, 
George W. Corey, James W. Corey, Daniel Dailey. Putnam Dcmming, 
James Doyle, William H. Eddy, Charles Gage, John Gordon, Martin 
Hope, Delos C. Hubbard, William W. Hunt, Eugene Hunt, Charles E. 
Hyatt, Clement W. Kidder, Michael Mahar, Truman McKinney, Charles 
Millis, John A. Neary, William F. Pierce, William Plaisted, Greig 
Quick, Byron F. Randolph, George Reynolds, George Shearman, Morris 
Shultz, Charles Shuter, George S. Wells, p;dwin G. Wheeler, and Men/.o 
Wixson. Other men belonging to the Company were likewise iu the 
battle, but were, as stated above, on detached duty ; among these were : 
Lieutenant William H. Long, then acting aid-de-camp to the General of 
the Brigade, and vSergeant Ivdward S. Rice, who was on duty at the head- 
quarters of the General of the Division. 



40 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUTSfTY. 

about twenty of his men. He was taken to Riclimond and 
afterwards to Salisbury, N. C, where he remained a prisoner 
for some months, when he was exchanged and rejoined his 
regiment in Maryland. 

The night after the battle of Williamsburg, the enemy 
evacuated the place and its surrounding works, retreating 
back to the Chickahominy. The members of the Thirty- 
third slept on their arms, and on the following day went into 
camp near the York River. On the evening of May 7th, 
General McClellan rode into camp on his favorite bay 
charger, "Dan Webster," and thus addressed the regiment 
while drawn up in line : 

" Officers and soldiers of the Thirty-third : I have come to 
thank you, in person, for gallant conduct on the field of bat- 
tle on the 5th inst. I will say to you what I have said to 
other regiments engaged with you. All did well — did all 
that I could expect. Bat you did more ; you behaved like 
veterans ; you are veterans ; veterans of a hundred battles 
could not have done better. Those on your left fought well ; 
but you won the day ; you were at the right point, did the 
right thing, and at the right time. You shall have Williams- 
burg inscribed on your banner." 

The Thirty-third was next engaged (May 24th) in battle at 
Mechanicsville, and, during the action, the regiment, to- 
gether with the Seventy-seventh New York Volunteers, 
charged upon and routed the opposing force of the enemy. 
General McClellan had now arrived within a few miles of 
Richmond, and the capture of that city seemed only a ques- 
tion of time. But the jealousy and intrigues of certain indi- 
viduals, high in authority, and the failure to send the needed 
reinforcements, prevented a successful issue of the campaign. 
Instead of taking the Confederate capital, McClellan was 
obliged, in order to save his army from destruction, to effect 
a change of base to the banks of the James River. Quietly, 
and without display, he commenced to do this, and though 
the enemy were very quickly informed, by their spies, of 
what was going on, they could not at first decide what it 
meant. At last, however, their suspicions were aroused, and 
they resolved to fall in overwhelming force on his flank, and 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 41 

cuttiug liiin off from bis supplies, make an utter eud of the 
entire army.* 

The retreat to the James lliver having begun, the Thirty- 
third Regiment, which, since the battle of Mechanicsville 
had been encamped at Gaines' Farm, moved, and for the 
purpose of holding the enemy in check, constructed intrench- 
ments at Camp Lincoln, (as it was called,) on Golding's 
Farm, near the Chickahomuiy Kiver. Here, on the 28th of 
June the capture of the regiment was attempted by a power- 
ful Confederate force, consisting of the Seventh and Eighth 
Georgia Regiments, but iu the effort the enemy were re- 
pulsed with great loss. In this action the Thirty-third lost 
several men, killed, wounded, and prisoners. Among the 
killed was Lieutenant Moses Church, of Company E, who, 
while encouraging his comrades by words and deeds, was 
struck dead by a minie ball. Captain Theodore B. Hamil- 
ton, of Company G, was among the prisoners taken by the 
enemy, but he was soon exchanged and returned to his reg- 
iment at Harrison's Landing. The Thirty-third was highly 
complimented for its bravery, by General Davidson, (a loyal 
Virginian,) in his report of the action. A sudden attack 
made by the Confederates, two days later, at White Oak 
Swamp, was also successfully resisted. Colonel Taylor then 
commanded the Third Brigade, (to which the Thirty-third 
belonged,) the regiment itself being in command of Major 
John S. Platner. 

On the 1st of July occurred the engagement at Malvern 
Hill. The Thirty-third was here posted, with others of our 
forces, among lines of batteries which the Confederates sev- 
eral times fiercely attacked, but iu vaiu. Charge after 
charge was made by the enemy, ouly to be rei)ulsed with 
fearful slaughter. The deteruiined bravery of the Confed- 
erates evoked cheers from the Unionists themselves. But 
to carry the Federal position was bi^yond their ])ower. In 
several iustances our infantry withheld their tire until the 
attacking column, which rushed through the storm of canis- 
ter and shell from our artillery, had reached within a few 
yards of our lines. They then poured, in a single volley, 

*Headley's History of the Great Rebellion, Vol. i. 



42 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

and dashed forward with the bayonet, capturing prisoners 
and colors and driving the routed cokinius in confusion from 
the tiekl. The result was complete victory.* 

In the afternoon of July 3d, the regiment, which, all 
through the retreat had formed a portion of the rear guard 
of the army, reached Harrison's Landing. Afterward, 
marching to Fortress Monroe, and from there going by trans- 
port, it arrived and went into camp (August 24th) at Alex- 
andria, from there marching through Washington to the bat- 
tle-field of Antietam. In this fight, which was on the 17th 
of September, the Thirty-third was foremost in action, losing 
alone fifty men in killed and wounded. t Among the former 
was Sergeant-Major George W. Bassett, of Yates County, a 
brave and popular officer. He was shot through the head, 
on returning to the front, after having carried Lieutenant 
Lucius C Mix, who had been severely wounded, from the 
field. Lieutenant William Hale Long, of Company I, was 
promoted, November 25tk, to Assistant Adjutant-General, 
witli tke rank of Captain, and on the 1st of December, 
George Brennan, Orderly-Sergeant of the same Company, 
was promoted to First Lieutenant. The regiment crossed 
the Rappahannock on December 12th, on pontoon bridges 
laid by the Fiftieth New York Engineers, and next day was 
in the battle of Fredricksburg, where its loss in killed and 
wounded amounted to over two hundred. Having remained 
in camp near White Oak Church during the first four 
months of 1863, the command, on the 2d of May, participated 
in the storming of Marye's Heights. These were gallantly 
carried, and on the summit the regimental colors were un- 
furled in triumph to the breeze. On the charge up the 
Heights, many of the regiment were killed and wounded, 
among the latter being Captain Root, of Company I.;|: The 

*McClellan's Own Story. 

t The wounded in Company I, at the battle of Antietam, were as follows: 
Sergeant Peter Mead. Privates : Bruen Coolcy, William H. Eddy, Charles 
Gage, Martin Hope, Charles B. Quick, George Reynolds, Charles Shuter. 

I In the charge up Marye's Heights, the following, belonging to Com- 
pany I, were wounded: Captain E. E. Root; Sergeants, George Shear- 
man, Putnam Demming ; Corporals, Byron F. Randolph, Menzo Wix- 
son, Dorr Barber, William Plaistead, Oweu Smith ; Privates, Thomas 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 4'S 

last battle iu which the Thirty-third was engaged was Sa- 
lem Heights, fought May 4th. In this battle, Lieutenant 
Charles D. Rossiter, of Company D, a young man of great 
promise, was killed. 

On Tuesday, May 12, 18G3, Colonel Taylor informed the 
men in his command that, their term of service having then 
expired, they were to go home on the coming Friday. The 
order for their departure was accompanied by ]>arting ad- 
dresses from the cori)S, division, and brigade generals, each 
address containing a graceful acknowledgment of the past 
services of the regiment. Farewells were uttered by mem- 
bers of other regiments who had fought side by side with 
the Thirty-third, and on the 17th of May the regiment ar- 
rived at Elmira. The Saturday following the Thirty-third 
came to Geneva, where an address of welcome was delivered 
by the Hon. Charles J. Folger. A bountiful repast was also 
served at Camp Swift to the returned soldiers by the ladies 
of Geneva. On Monday, May 25th, the regiment proceeded 
to Canandaigua, where a splendid ovation was received 
from the citizens. The buildings were handsomely decorated 
with the National colors and triumphal arches spanned the 
principal streets. The veterans, together with the Canandaigua 
firemen, formed in procession and marched to the Court House 
Square, and were here addressed by the Hon. Elbridge G. 
Lapham. The procession again formed and passed through 
various streets to the fair grounds, where the regiment per- 
formed the different evolutions of the manual, exhibited the 
manner of pitching tents, made a "charge," and went 
through with other numerous military exercises, which elic- 
ited rounds of applause from the lookers on. J. P. Faurot, 
Esq., made a brief speech of congratulation, to which Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Corning responded. Colonel Taylor then 
returned to the ladies of Canandaigua the regimental banner 
received from them two years l)efore. Handing the flag to 
the committee, he remarked that it had been given to his 

Conway, James W. Corey, George W. Corey, (mortally,) James Doyle, 
William II. l\dcly, Kuyenc Hunt, William W. Hunt, William Johnson, 
(mortally,) Hackctt Merritt, George Reynolds, Jeremiah H. Spraguc, 
Charles Shuter, George S. Wells, Edwin G. Wheeler. 



44 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

commaud with the pledge that it should never be sullied by 
cowardice or a dishonorable act, and it had never been. It 
was a beautiful flag when presented to the regiment, but was 
now torn and oiled, but to him and the regiment it was all 
the dearer. He had no doubt it would be dearer to those who 
gave it, as a relic of the bravery and patriotism of the men 
of the Thirty-third, who, when he assumed commaud, were 
eight hundred strong, but now less than four hundred re- 
mained. On receiving back the banner the ladies presented 
an address, which was read by A. H. Howell, Esq. A parting 
speech to the regiment was delivered by Chaplain Augustus 
H. Lung. A sumptuous banquet, served at the Canandaigua 
House by the ladies of the village, concluded the ceremony. 
The same evening the Thirty-third returned to Geneva, and 
on Tuesday, June 2, 1863, was assembled on the green in 
front of the barracks by Captain Beirne, of the regular army, 
and there mustered by companies out of the service. 

On the 20th of June a grand reception was given at Penn 
Yan to the members of Company I. Led by Lieutenant 
Brennan, as senior officer, they marched to the sound of 
martial music through the principal streets, and were served 
with a collation at the Benliam House. The flag which had 
been presented to the company two years before was now 
returned to the ladies of Penn Yan, and appropriate ad- 
dresses were made by the Hon. D. A. Ogden and the Rev. 
Frederick Starr, Jr. Several who had belonged to Company 
I, and to other companies in the Thirty-third Regiment, 
subsequently rcenlisted in other commands. 

The following is the muster-in roll of Company I of the 
Thirty-third Regiment, added to which is a list of the regi- 
mental and line officers at the time of the muster-out: Offi- 
cers—James M. Letts, Captain; Edward E. Root,t First 
Lieutenant; William H. Long, Second Lieutenant; Charles 
Howe, First Sergeant; William Riker,;j: Edward S. Rice, 
Henry Atwater, Sergeants ; Richard J. Harford, Peter Mead,t 
David A. Cook, John W. Durham, Corporals ; John 01iver,§ 
Damon Morse, Musicians; Privates: Joseph Agins,§ David 
Akins,§ Patrick Ambrose,'!" John Ashley, George Brennan, 

t Wouuded. j Died. I Deserted. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 45 

George W. Bassett," Patrick Breunau, Daniel G. Baker, 
Dorr Barber,! Charles Bishop, Charles Brown, Freeman M. 
Brazee, Cornelius Bouncy ,S Bruen Cooley,!' Charles Corn- 
stock, George W. Corey,* James W. Corey,t Augustus A. 
Chidsey, Charles E. Chapman, :|; Thomas Con way, t Daniel 
Dailey, John R. Davis, James Doyle,!" William Decker, Put- 
nam Demming,t William H. Ed(ly,t Henry Escott, James 
Furner, William Foster, Charles Forshay, John Forshay,§ 
Sylvester Fre(lenl)urg,§ Charles Gage,t John Gordon, Lewis 
B. Holmes,;|: Martin Hope,!" Thomas Hunter, Lewis G. Hor- 
ton,:|: William Humphrey,! Eugene Hunt,!" WilUam W. Hunt,t 
Delos C. Hubbard, Charles E. Hyatt, William Johnson," Cle- 
ment W. Kidder, AYilliam H. Kean, Michael Mahar, Truman 
McKiuney, Charles McConnell, Hackett Merritt,t Patrick 
Mulligan, Charles Millis, Augustus F. Murdock,;!; George Mad- 
den,S John Newlove, John E. Neary, Christopher Nash, 
William F. Pierce, William Plaisted,!" Greig Quick,! Charles 
B. Quick, I Oliver Raplee, George Reynolds,!" Byron F. Ran- 
dolph,!" Henry Reppinger, William B. Rogers, George 
Shearman,! Lewis Shaw, Richard Strong, Jeremiah E. 
Sprague,!" Charles Sliuter,!" Edward Singleton, William V. 
R. Sloan, Morris Shultz, Abner Stetler,§ Menzo Wixson,t 
John G. Wolcott, George S. Wells,!" Peter S. Wheatou, Ed- 
win G. Wheeler, ! John Woodruff, Hiram Whitney, George 
Youngs. 

Regimental and line officers — Colonel, Robert F. Taylor; 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Joseph W. Corning ; Major, John S. 
Platner; Adjutant, John W. Corning; Quartermaster, Henry 
N. Alexander; Chaplain, Augustus H. Lung; Surgeon, 
D'Estaing Dickinson ; Assistant Surgeon, Duncan Mac- 
Lacklin. 

Company A — Captain, Edwin J. Tyler; First Lieutenant, 
Prince Wesley Bailey ; Second Lieutenant, Thomas H. Sib- 
balds; Company B — Captain, Henry J. Draime; First 
Lieutenant, Lucius C. Mix; Second Lieutenant, John J. 
Carter; Company C — Captain, Chester H. Cole; First Lieu- 
tenant, Robert H. Brett; Second Lieutenant, James E. 
Stebbings; Company D — Captain, Henry J. Gitford; Second 

* Killed, t Wounded. tDied. ^Deserted. 



46 THE MILITAKY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Lieutenant, William E. Roach ; Company E — Captain, Wil- 
son E. Warford ; First Lieutenant, John Gummer ; Company 
r — Captain, James M. McNair; First Lieutenant, Henry A. 
Hills; Second Lieutenant, John F. Winship; Company G — 
Captain, George A. Gale; First Lieutenant, George W. 
Marshall; Second Lieutenant, Byron F. Crain ; Company H 
— Captain, Alexander H. Drake ; First Lieutenant, Otis Cole ; 
Second Lieutenant, Sylvester Porter; Company I — Captain, 
Edward E. Root; First Lieutenant, George Brennan ; Com- 
pany K — Captain, Patrick McGraw; First Lieutenant, Bar- 
nard Byrne ; Second Lieutenant, Edward Carey. 



CHAPTER III. 

The First Regiment United States Sharpshooters— The Third, Twenty- 
third, and Tliirty-fourth Regiments, Infantry. 

THE FIRST UNITED STATES SHARrSHOOTERS. 

COLONEL (afterwards General) Hiram Berdan received 
authorit}^ from tbe War Department, June 15, 1861, to 
recruit a regiment of sharpshooters. To this regiment the State 
of New York furnished four companies, A, B, D, and H, and 
kiter on recruits. J. Smith Brown,* of Yates County, aided 
efficiently in recruiting this regiment, in which he for a time 
held the rank of Adjutant. (He afterwards became Ad- 
jutant and then Major in the One Hundred and Twenty- 
sixth Regiment, New York Volunteers.) Berdau's Sharp- 
shooters (as they were commonly called) served with the 
Arm}' of the Potomac in detachments, and as one organiza- 
tion in the Second, Third, and principally in the Fifth 
Corps. They participated during their term of service in 
the following engagements: Howard's Mills, Yorktown, 
Hanover Court House, Fair Oaks, Charles City Cross Roads, 
Malvern Hill, Gainesville, Second Bull Run, Antietam, 
Blackman's Ford, Shepardstown, Fredericksburg, Chancel- 
lorsville, Gettysburg, Wapping Heights, Auburn, Kelly's 
Ford, Locust Grove, Mine Run, Wilderness, Po River, and 
in front of Petersburg. 

Tlu! First Sharpshooters are classed by Fox among the 
" Three Hundred Fighting Regiments,"!- or those that suffered 
the greatest losses in battle. In the beginning of 18G3 the 

*On August 26, 1861, J. Smith Brown (at that time Orderly Sergeant) 
came to Penn Yan, and, after enlisting William Klmendorf and other re- 
cruits, delegated Lieutenant I^lmendorf as recruiting oflicer. The )'aies 
County Chronicle of the previous 22d inst., in announcing the coming of 
Orderly-Sergeant Brown, said: "Those who know how to handle a gun 
will find this a capital regiment to belong to. The legions of leff. Davis 
will stand clear when these boys get a crack at them." 

t " Regimental losses in the Civil War " by William F. Fox, Lieutenant- 
Colooel, Uoited States Volwateers. 



48 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

regiment became consolidated with the Second Sharpshoot- 
ers, and both were divided into three battahons, commanded 
by Colonel Berdan. The First and Second Sharpshooters 
were at that time brigaded with the Twelfth New Hampshire 
and One Hundredth Pennsylvania, as the Second Brigade of 
the First Division of the Fifth Corps. In the summer of 
that year Colonel Berdan succeeded to the command of this 
brigade. 

Company' B, Captain Stephen Martin, was recruited in 
part in Yates County by William Elmendorf, the Second 
Lieutenant. The Yates County recruits left Penn Yan on 
Friday noon, November 29, 1861, for Elmira, where they 
were mustered on the same day into the service of the United 
States for three years. From Elmira they went on to Wash- 
ington and the front. The following were the Yates County 
enlistments in Company B : 

Wilham Ehneudorf, Second Lieutenant; William H. Cliid- 
sey, Jr., Orderly Sergeant; Privates George M. Barber, Ed- 
win Beebe, Nelson Bennett, Charles M. Bogart, Robert 
Bogart, John W. Irwin Chidsey,""^ Lewis Boyce, Harrison 
DeLong, James Densmore, George H. Downey, James 
Drake, Gideon Batenian Draper, Franklin B. Ellwood, George 
H. Gannon, David D. Gannon, John Gannon, Henry Gan- 
non, Aaron Y. Gregory,* George Griswold, Thaddeus M. 
Hadden, Michael Hallon, Egbert C. Hopkins, Ward Kellogg, 
Levi Ketchum, Henry Mapes, David Philbrook, John Phil- 
brook, Russell H. Rarrick, Nelson Rector, James C. Robin- 
son, George Russell, Lyman Savage, William M. Simmons, 
John B. Smith, AVilliam H. Stapleton, Joseph Stoakes, 
James H. Warner, Benjamin F. Warner. 

Companj^ H : John Cooley, private. 

THE THIRD REGIMENT. 

The Third Regiment of infantry, known as the Albany 
Regiment, Avas one of the first regiments to enter the service. 
It was organized at Albany, and, under command of Colonel 
Frederick Townsend, left the State May 31, 1861. The reg- 
iment was first stationed at and near Fortress^Monroe, and 

*Died in service. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 49 

participated in the battle of Big Bethel on the 10th of June. 
Afterwards, in Mansfield's Division, served at Suffold, Va., 
during the greater part of 1862. The time of enlistment of 
Company K of this regiment expired in 1863, and the mem- 
bers of this company (among whom were several from Yates 
County) were, with members of other companies, mustered 
out at Albany on the 21st of May oi that year. A number, 
however, re-enlisted, and served to the end of the war. The 
Third Regiment, as re-organized, took part in the military 
operations in Charleston harbor, also with the Army of the 
James against Petersburg and Richmond, and with Sherman 
in the campaign of the Carolinas. The regiment, then com- 
manded by Lieutenant-Colonel George W. Warren, was 
mustered out at Raleigh, N. C, August 28, 1865. 

Company K, Captain John E. Mulford, contained the fol- 
lowing recruits from Yates County : Baruett W. Baker, 
John Weslej^ Cleveland, John A. Dickerson," Gideon B. 
Draper, Hiram Embree, Charles D. Holmes, Abraham Ken- 
nedy, Silas Lawrence, Charles W. Lewis, Ezekiel Noble, 
Johu D. Rohde, William Smith, Samuel Tupper.* 

THE TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT, 

The Twenty-third Regiment of infantry. Colonel Henry C. 
Hoffman commanding, was organized at Elmira, and there 
mustered into the United States service for two years, July 
2, 1861. The regiment left the State on the 5th, and served 
in Virginia and Maryland, taking part in the following bat- 
tles : Near Falls Church, Munson Hill, Ball's Cross Roads 
(from August 14 to September 14, 1861), Bowling Green Road, 
and Orange C. H. (May 18 and July 10, 1861. In General 
Pope's campaign, at the battles of Sulphur Springs, Gaines- 
ville, Grovetou, Second Bull Run, and Fairfax C. H. (from 
August 26 to 31), Smith Mountain (September 14), Autietam 
(September 17), and Fredericksburg (December 11 to 15, 
1862). The Twenty-third Regiment, commanded by Colonel 
Hoffman, with Lieutenant-Colonel Niram M. Crane,t of 
Yates County, second in command, was honorably dis- 
charged and mustered out at Elmira, May 22, 1863. 

*Died ill service. 

t Afterwards Colonel of the lojtli Rcgiinent. 



50 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

The following recruits from Yates Comity were in Com- 
pany r, Twenty-third Regiment : Privates, John W. Austin, 
James Criscadon, William Criscadon, William H. Dunn, 
Charles G. Lewis, Oscar Nelson, Ira M. Slawson. 

Company D — Herman C. Howell, Corporal. 

Company F — Isaac Verian, private. 

Company I — William R. Paulding, private. 

Company K — Rodney W. Steele, Ensign. 

THE THIRTY-FOURTH REGIMENT. 

The Thirty -fourth Regiment of infantr}^ Colonel William 
LaDue, was organized at Albany, and was there mustered 
(June 15, 1861,) into the service of the United States for two 
years. The regiment left the State on the 3d of July, and 
during the remainder of the year 1861 served at and near 
Washington, being engaged in skirmishes with the enemy at 
Seneca Mills and at Draiusville, Md., and at Goose Creek, 
Va., in September and October. The regiment was at the 
siege of Yorktown (April 5 to May 4, 1862), in action at 
Tyler House (May 29th), at the battle of Fair Oaks (May 
31st), at White House (June 16th), and during the Seven 
Days' battles (June 25th to July 21st.) It then took part in 
the battle of Antietam (September 17th) and at Fredericksburg 
(December 11th to 15th), was at the storming of Marye's 
Heights (May 3d), and engaged at Salem Church (May 4th). 
The Thirty-fourth Regiment, then under Colonel Byron. 
Laflin, was mustered out at Albany, June 30, 1863. 

The following were the Yates County enlistments in Com- 
pany I, Thirty-fourth Regiment: Alfred T. Attwood, First 
Lieutenant; John Fiuegan, First Sergeant; Lemuel C. Ben- 
ham, Second Sergeant; Privates Harrison Clark, Orlando M. 
Crowfoot, David Finegan, George C. Leddick, James E- 
Northrup, James A. McCarrick, Frederick B. St. John, 
Jacob Spears. 



CHAPTEK IV. 

The Fort^'-Foiirth Regiment of Infantry. 

THE Forty-fourth Regiment, New York Volunteers, which 
was also knowu as the People's Ellsworth Regimeut, or 
the Ellsworth Avengers, was at first recruited under the au- 
spices of the Ellsworth Association of the State of New York. 
The original plan was to obtain from every ward or town of 
the State one man. This plan was not adhered to, but later 
more than one enlistment was allowed to each, and the 
counties of Albany and Erie furnished each one company. 
The men reported individually at Albany, where the regi- 
meut, then commanded by Colonel Stephen W. Str^dier, was 
organized under orders from the State, dated Oct. 15, 1861.* 
The regiment left the State Oct. 21st, and, as originally or- 
ganized, served through the campaign on the Peninsula, and 
also in General Pope's campaign (April 5th to Sept. 15, 
1802). On Sept. 20, 18G2, Companies C and E were merged 
into the others, composing the regiment, and replaced by 
new companies, recruited at Albany Oct. 21st. New Com- 
pany C was raised in Yates County and was at first Com- 
pany M of the One Hundred and Fortj^-eighth Regiment. 
The line officers of this company were : Captain, Bennett L. 
Hunger; First-Lieutenant, Elzer B.James; Second-Lieuten- 
ant, Charles Kelly. New Company E was also known as 
the Normal School Company. The two companies went 
from Albany to Washington, from Washington to Harper's 
Ferry, and united with the Forty-fourth Regimeut on the 
battle-field of Antietam. 

The Forty-fourth, when re-organized by the addition of 
the new Companies C and E, and as attached to the Third 
Brigade, First Division, Fifth Corps, of the Arm}' of the Po- 
tomac, took a prominent part in the battle of Fredericksburg 
on the 13th of December, 18C2. In this engagement, having 



*New York in the War of the Rebellion. 

\ 



52 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

crossed the Rappahannock on pontoon bridges, the regiment 
participated in the unsuccessful assault on the works in the 
rear of the town. In this attack the Forty-fourth lost sev- 
eral men, killed and wounded. It was next in action at 
Chancellorsville ( May 2d and 3d, 1868 ), and after this battle 
returned to the place of encampment, opposite Fredericks- 
burg. On this camping-ground the Forty-fourth remained 
until the middle of June, Avhen the whole army commenced 
its march northward along the east side of the Blue Bidge 
and South Mountains. The march was for the purpose of 
again engaging Lee's army, which was rapidly advancing up 
the Shenandoah Valley in the same direction. While on 
the march a Confederate force was encountered, June 2l8t, 
near Middleburg, Va. The country around Middleburg was 
full of stone walls, and behind these the enemy's sharp- 
shooters were posted. The Forty-fourth regiment was 
formed in line of battle, and here gave noble assistance in 
dislodging and driving back the foe. The discomfiture of 
the Confederates was rendered complete, when, by a cavalry 
charge, in which Custer was particularly distinguished, the 
opposing cavalry were routed, and the whole force driven 
through Ashby's Gap back into the Shenandoah Valley. 
The Forty-fourth, continuing its march, crossed the Potomac 
at Edward's Ferry into Maryland. At Monocacy Junction, 
in this State, the order superseding General Hooker in com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac by General Meade Avas 
read to the regiment. The army marched rapidly on to 
Gettysburg, where Lee had already concentrated his forces. 
It was evident that a great and decisive battle was at hand. 
Marching on through the night of July 1st, the Fort}'- 
fourth Regiment arrived the following morning on the battle- 
field and was stationed at Little Round Top. A fierce and 
impetuous assault was soon made on both Great and Little 
Round Top by Longstreet's Corps. The action was sharp 
and warm, but, in spite of the utmost efforts of the enemy, 
the Unionists, held these positions until the close of the bat- 
tle.* At one o'clock in the afternoon of the 3d, commenced 



* At Gettysburg, the Forty -fourth Reginieut was commanded by Colonel 
James C Rice. Duriug the second day's battle Colonel Rice, having 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 53 

a most tremendous cannonade, the neighboring hills being 
shaken with the thundei's of over two hundred heavy guns. 
For over two hours the cannonade continued, and then the 
Southerners made a grand charge in a column nearly three 
miles long. The charge, however, was valiantly met, and 
the Forty-fourth aided grandly in the repulse of the 
enemy. The loss sustained by the regiment in these two 
days' fighting at Gettysburg was Captain Lucius S. Larrabee, 
Lieutenant Eugene L. Dunham, and twenty-seven enlisted 
men killed, and five officers and seventy-seven enlisted men 
wounded,'^' while Lieutenant Benjamin F. Thomas and ten 
enlisted men were wounded mortally. On the night of the 
'ith the Confederates commenced their retreat to the Poto- 
mac. Their intention had evidently been to capture Wash- 
ington, and perhaps dictate terms of peace at Philadelphia 
or New York.t The bravery and patriotism of the Forty- 
fourth and of other regiments in the Union Army had 
brought about an altogether different result. 

After the retreat of the enemy from Gettysburg, the Forty- 
fourth Regiment crossed the Potomac at Berlin and took 
part on the 12th of July, with other forces, in a skirmish at 

taken command of the Third Brigade, headed a bayonet charge against 
the enemy, the 20th Maine leading. The Confederates, who had got pos- 
session of a part of Little Round Top, were repulsed with great slaugh- 
ter, their artillery captured, and the 20th Maine took more prisoners than 
they themselves numbered men. 

*In the Vaies County Chronicle, of July 9th, 1863, was the following 
reference to Company C, Forty-fourth Regiment : "This gallant company, 
commanded by Captain Bennett L. Munger, reports several casualties in 
the late battle. The Captain himself is said to be wounded in the hip, 
but not seriously. Of the privates, Richard McEHigott, of Torrey, and 
Frank Griswold, of Italy, are reported killed. ]\I. F. Graham, of Italy, 
James Dansingburg, of Barrington, W. W.Smith, of Jerusalem, R. C. 
Phillips, of Milo, and George W. Hobart, of Potter, are reported 
wounded. Lieutenant Charles Kelly writes home that he is safe and 
unhurt. The Forty-fourth Regiment has seen heavy service. 

P. S. Captain Munger came home last evening. He received a wound, 
as indicated by the earliest report, but, owing to his jack-knife in his 
pocket, his life was saved, though the knife was ruined. The gallant 
Captain looks as though he had seen hard times, but, we doubt not, will 
come out all right yet." 

t Barnes' History of the United States. 



54 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Jones' Cross Koads, Va., and also participated in engage- 
ments at Bristow Station, Oct. 14th, at Rappahannock Sta- 
tion, Nov. 7tli, and in the Mine Run Campaign, from Nov. 
26th to Dec. 2d. The Forty-fourth had expected to find 
quarters for the winter at Rappahannock Station, and huts 
were being erected at that place when orders were received 
for the regiment to repair to Alexandria. Here the Forty- 
fourth was detailed to guard the trains running between this 
venerable town and Brandy Station, where a depot of sup- 
plies had been established. The regiment acted in that 
capacity until the opening of the Wilderness campaign in 
May, 1864. Having crossed the Rapidan, the Forty-fourth 
was in action in the battle of the AVilderness, and also at 
Spottsylvania, Piney Branch Church, Laurel Hill, North 
Anna, and Tolopotomy, from the 5th to the 31st of May, 
losing in these engagements Captain Seth F. Johnson and 
thirty-two enlisted men, killed, and six officers and eighty- 
three enlisted men, Avounded. The regiment then added to 
its noble record the battle of Cold Harbor (June 1st to 
17th), including the fight at Bethesda Church on the 2d and 
3d, the assault of Petersburg (June 16th to lOtli), the tak- 
ing of the Weldon Railroad (Aug. IStli to 21st), and the en- 
gagement at Poplar Spring Church (Sept. 30th to Oct. 2d). 

The companies originally composing the regiment were 
mustered out at Albany, Oct. 11, 1864. The held and staff 
officers of the Forty-fonrth Regiment at the time of the 
muster-out were as follows : Colonel, Freeman Connor : 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Edward B. Knox; Major, Campbell 
Allen; Adjutant, George B. Herendeen; Quartermaster, 
Frederick R. Mundy; Surgeon, Morris W. Townsend; As- 
sistant-Surgeon, D. Carleton Spencer; Chaplain, Cyrus S. 
Crane. 

Company I, when mustered out, was commanded by Lieu- 
tenant Charles Kelly, who had previously received a Cap- 
tain's commission, but had not mustered in as such. The 
men whose term of service had not expired, including those 
belonging to new Company C, were, on the 23d of Septem- 
ber, formed into a battalion, which, on the lltli of October, 
was transferred to the One Hundred and Fortieth New York 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 55 

Volunteers and the One Hundred and Forty-sixth New York 
Vohinteers. The members of new Company C were among 
the troops that were merged into the former regiment. After 
this transfer this company took part, with the remainder of 
the regiment, in the battle of Hatchers' Eun (Oct. 27th), 
also in the engagements of White Oak Eidge (March 
29, 1865), and Five Forks (April 1), and followed up 
the pursuit of Lee until his surrender at Appomattox. 
The One Hundred and Fortieth Eegiment then came to 
Washington and encamped on Arlington Heights. Here it 
was mastered out June 3, 1865, with the exception of certain 
soldiers who had yet some weeks to serve. Among these 
the members of new Company C were included, and on the 
following day they left Washington and went by way of Bal- 
timore and Philadelphia to New York City, and were sta- 
tioned on Hart's Island, in the harbor. They here remained 
until the 21st of August, when they were mustered out, re- 
ceiving on that day their final pay and discharge. 

Muster-in roll of Company C of the Forty-fourth Eegi- 
ment: 

Bennett L. Munger,t Captain ; Elzer B. James, First- 
Lieutenant; Charles Kelly,t Second-Lieutenant; Orette L. 
Munger,t First-Sergeant; Eoyal G. Kiuner,t George E. 
Henderson, § Samuel J. Powell, and John O'Neil, Sergeants; 
S. Harvey Ackley, Fred D. Hills, Eobert F. Shipley, Charles 
Pelton, Matthew Fitzpatrick, George W. Hobart,t James 
Barrow,t andElnathau Mead,t Corporals ; John T. Johnsont 
and Sylvanus Eaton, Musicians; James Powell, Wagoner; 
Privates, William Adams, Edgar Adams, Dcwitt C. Bassett, 
Samuel Covell, Philo H. Conklin, A. James Cole,t Wilham 
Criscadou,Tbomas Donnelly, Stephen T. Dye,:|: John Devlin, 
Cyrus H. Davis, § James Dansenburg,!' William Elwell, 
George W. Francisco,t Joseph H. Fletcher,:!: Walter E. 
Furner,t Thomas Finucan, Marion F. Graham, t Emory C. 
Green,t Josiali H. Gardner,* Frances M. Griswold," Andrew 
A. Giddiugs,t John K. Giddiugs,t Peter Haines,t Moses F. 
Hardy, William A. Herrick, t Norman Harrington, Andrew J. 
Horton, Harrington Houghton, Peter H. Hibbard, George 

* Killed, t Wouuded. I Died, ii Deserted. 



56 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

R. Huuter,t James H. Mandeville, John McGlaughliu, 
Elisha Moon, Fred Mitchell, John McGougli, Jobu E. Mc- 
Bride,§ Richard McEllioott,* David O. Mapes,t PbiHp 
Morse, William N. Norris," Lucius L. Osgood,t William 
O'Neil, Daniel O'Neil, Richard C. Phillips,t Alexander Per- 
ry,t Clark Reynolds, James Rowell, George C. Rajmond,!" 
Peter J. Strail, Reuben Sisson, Thomas R. Southerbj,* 
Hiram M. Squires, George W. Snyder,| x\lbert Sturde- 
vant, Jacob Stroup, Noah H. Shultz,t William W. Smith, t 
Myron Smith, Jacob Traver, Charles W. Taylor, Pat- 
rick Tobiu,t George W. Wing, Orrin E. Watkins,t Albert 
W. West,t Jerome Wheaton,t Martin R. Westcott, Alden 
D. Whitney. In Company E, George B. Wolcott.* 

* Killed. fWouudcd. ;Died. ^Deserted. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Scveuty-sixth, ECiglity-fifth, Ninety-seventh, One Hundred and Sec- 
ond, and One Hundred and Fifth Regiments Infantry. 

THE SEVENTY-SIXTH REGIMENT. 

THE Seventy-sixth Regiment, Colonel Nelson W. Green, 
was recruited mainly in Cortland County. The different 
companies composing the regiment contained, however, men 
from the counties of Allegany, Chenango, Madison, Otsego, 
Schoharie, Tioga, Tompkins, and Yates, the recruits from the 
last named county being in Companies A and E." On the 
17th day of January, 1862, the regiment left the State for 
the front. Its first engagement was at Locust Grove, Va., 
(May 5th.) The Seventy-sixth Regiment then took part in 
General Pope's campaign, and afterwards participated in 
the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, 
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Si)ottsylvania, 
Cold Harbor, the assault of Petersburg, the taking of the 
Weldon Railroad, Poplar Grove Church, and Hatcher's Run. 
The several companies in the Seventy-sixth were mustered 
out in the fall and winter of 1861, the members of Com})any 
A being honorably discharged on the 11th of October, and of 
Company E on the 18th of November. In Companies A 
and E were the following citizens of Yates County : 

Company A — Herschell AV. Pierce, Second Lieutenant (af- 
terwards promoted to Captain) ; Privates, George A. Allen, 
Theodore Beach, Marvin O. Byington, William Condon,}; 
Lyman Culver, Benjamin F. Carpenter,! Martin P. Camp- 

* In October, iS6i, Herschell W. Pierce recruited twenty-five men in 
Starkey and Barrington and took them to the camp of the 76th Regi- 
ment New York Volunteers, then forming at Cortland, and, with his 
men, was mustered into the United States service as a private soldier. 
He was promoted to Sccond-Ivieutenant Jan. 13, 1S62, to First-Lieutenant 
March 11, 1^62, and to Captain Dec. 20, 1862. lie was mustered out at 
Yellow Taveru, Va., Oct. 11, 1864. 

t Killed. I Deserted. 



58 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

be\\,X Samuel Higgius, Alouzo Harris, Albert L. Hiltou,* 
Jesse Houglitaliugjt Charles E. Stamp." 

Company C — George S. Wells, private. 

Compauy E — James B. Bush, George Bush, William A. 
Comford, Maroellus Finch, Edgar D. Haviland, Ennnet 
Houghtailing, Samuel H. Ives, Edward Kell}', Alanson Pot- 
ter, George Steadwell, Alonzo Seward, Walter Wood. 

THE EIGHTY-FIFTH REGIMENT. 

The Eightj-tifth Ilegimeut of Infantry, Colonel Uriah L. 
Davis, was organized November 7, 18G1, at Elniira, from 
which place it started (December 3d) for Washington, and 
was there attached to the Tliinl Brigade of the Second Di- 
vision (commanded by General Silas Casey) of the Fourth 
Corps of the Army of the Potomac. In the spring and sum- 
mer of 18G2 the regiment took part in the more important 
battles of the Peninsular Campaign, including the Seven 
Days' Iletreat (April 17th to July 1st.) It was then ordered 
to Sutiblk, Va.; from there to New Berne, N. C, and became 
part of the First Brigade, General Hunt, of the Second Di- 
vision, General Wessells, in the Department of the South, 
and, under the chief command of General J. G. Foster, took 
part in the campaigns of 18G2-'G3-'6I: in North Carolina, 
]Kirticipating in the following engagements: Kinston, 
Whitehall, CJoldsboro, Williamston, (December 11 to 27, 
'G2,) New Berne, Nixoutou, Blount's Creek, Little Washing- 
ton, Free Biidge, Williamston, Chowan (March 14 to July 
28, 'G3), Hanellsville (January 20, '(51), and Plymouth (April 
17 to 20, '64.) In this last engagement a portion of Genera] 
Wessell's Division was, b}' a large force of the enemy, sur- 
rounded, overpowered, and obliged to surrender.^ Among 

* Killed. tWoutided. t Deserted. 

^During this battle the regitneut, with the other forces foruiiug the 
garrison, \vcre stationed in the town of Plymouth, on the Roanoke river. 
The Confederates attacked in overwhelming numbers on the 17th, and on 
the 19th sent down the river an iron-clad ram called the " Albemarle," 
which sunk two gun-boats belonging to our fleet, thus cutting off the 
Federal line of retreat. By a succession of charges the enemy got inside 
the iutrenchments, which were, ho\\-cver, bravely defended, until all 
hope was gone of any further defense, when the garrison laid down 
their arms. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 59 

the troops that surreuderetl were the members of the Eighty- 
lifth Regiment, with the exce])tion of those holoiigiiig to 
Compiiuy A, who were on detached duty on lioanoke Ishmd. 
After the surrender they were marched seventy miles to Tar- 
boro, N. C, and were then transferred in box cars to Ander- 
sonville, Ga.* They were there imprisoned five months, one 
month at Charleston, and two months at Florence, enduring 
all this time starvation and hardship, but at length received 
their ]iaroles, agreeing not to take up arms against the Con- 
federate government for one hundred days, unless regularly 
exchanged. The released soldiers afterwards combined with 
the members of Com[)any A, who had remained in service, 
and were together mustered out at Mosby Hall, N. C, July 
15, 18G5. 

Company G, commanded at first by Captain John Haines, 
took part with the remainder of the regiment in its various 
battles, and was included in the surrender at the battle of 
Plymouth. AVhen the battle occurred, the company was 
under command of Lieutenant John A. Lafier, of Yates 
County. In Company G were the following officers and 
men from this county: 

George M. Munger,t First Lieutenant ; Alonzo S. Miller,:]: 
Orderly Sergeant; John A. Lafier, Sergeant (promoted to 
First Lieutenant) ; George Haiuer, John G. Watkins,^. Cor- 
]iorals; John B. Ingles, musician; Privates, George W. 
Barnes, Erastus Bucklin, George Black, John Betram, 
Joseph S. Crouch, Alexander P. Campbell, Frank Danes, 
Martin Davis, James Dougherty, Benjamin Gay,:|: Patrick 
Gill, John W. Green, AViliam W. Hibbard, David Martin 
InschOjt. George B. Ingles, Amos Jones, Hazard Jones, 
Samuel Lurch, Henry McGhiughlin, Henry Norman, 
George J. Odell, Orrin Shearman, (Jeorge S. Wells. 

Died in Andersonville. — Privates Andrew Carmer, Chester 
Ellis, Joseph Finger. 

*The privates taken in this battle were, as above stated, confined at 
first in Andersonville, bnt the olTicers were confined at Macon. After 
about three months the officers were transferred to Savannah. I'roin 
there they went to Charleston, from Charleston to Columbia, and from 
Columbia to Charlotte, where they were paroled. 

t Killed, t Wounded. 



GO THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Died in Chio'hdon. — Joseiili D. Tinuey, Corporal; Aaron 
BearcT, private. 

Died in J^lorence. — Ebeuezer luseho, wagoner; Privates 
Kobert K. Briggs, Hiram Corey. 

Died in Wai<hington. — Privates Nelson Bogart, Nelson 
Matthews. 

Died in ^b^/*({/)(7/i..— Ebenezer Finch, private. 

Died in Wilmington. — Augustus Gordon, private. 

THE NINETY-SEVENTH REGIMENT. 

The Ninety-seventh Regiment, Colonel Charles Wheelock, 
was organized at Booneville, and then mustered in the ser- 
vice of the United States for three years, February 18, 186*2. 
It left the State March 12th, and its tii-st engagement was at 
Cedar Mountain, Ya.. on the 9th of August. The regiment 
then served through General Popes campaign, and also par- 
ticipated in the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fred- 
ericksburg. Chaucellorsville, and Gettysburg. Its record of 
service likewise includes the Mine Eun Campaign, the Wil- 
derness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, the assault at Petei-s- 
burg, the taking of the Weldon Eailroad, Hatcher's Eun, 
White Oak Eidge, Five Forks, and Appomattox. The regi- 
ment was mustered out, under Colonel John P. Spofford, 
July 18, 18Go, near Washington, D. C. 

In Companies A and B, of the Ninety-seventh Eegiment, 
were the following Yates Coimty men : 

Company A, Zeno T. Carpenter,* George P. Harrison, Jo- 
seph Sage. 

Company B — Thomas Fee, James Nangle. 

THE ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND REGIMENT. 

The One Hundred and Second Eegiment was organized 
Jauuarv 27, 18G2, under Colonel Thomas B. YauBuren, 
(^formerlv of Penn Yan.") and was also known as the '• Yau 
Biiren Light Infantry." Eight companies belonging to this 
regiment left New York city for the front, March 10th. 
Companies I and K left April 7th. The regiment at lii-st 
served in the Army of the Potomac, participating in the 

*Woumlcd. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY, 01 

battle of Cedar Mountain, and in the engagements in Gen- 
eral Pope's Campaign, also in the battles of Antietam, Clian- 
cellorsville," Gettysburg, Ellis Ford, and Stevensbnrg. In 
the autnmn of 18G3 the Twelfth Corps, in which the One 
Hundred and Second Regiment was included, was trans- 
ferred to Tennessee, and there aided in achieving the grand 
victory of Missionary Ridge, with the capture of Lookout 
Mountain. At Lookout Mountain the One Hundred and 
Second was posted upon tin; extreme right of Hooker's first 
line of battle and nobly sustained the high rej)utation in 
which the regiment was held by the commanding General. 
In this action Major Gilbert M. Elliott was killed and Lieu- 
ttuiant-Colonel Robert Avery was wounded. The regiment 
then served in the Army of the Cumberland in the Atlanta 
Campaign, (May 3d to Sept. 2, 1804,) (biring Sherman's 
march to the sea, (Nov. 15th to Dec. 10, 18(54,) and in the 
Campaign of the Carolinas, (Jan. 'iOth to April '2(1, 18G5.) 
The One Hundred and Second Regiment was honorably dis- 
charged and mustered out, under Colonel Harvey U. Chat- 
tield, July 21, 18G5, at Alexandria, Va. 

Company H, in this regiment, contained the following 
Yates County enlistments : 

Peter K. Deyo, Captain ; Aaron C. Frost, First Sergeant ; 
Charles L. Nichols, Second Sergeant; Privates, Morris Bart- 
lett, Edward Boardsley, James J. Fox, Lorimore Graham, 
William Henry Mathrole, Anson Matthews, James Sanders, 
Charles H. Wheeler. 



* The y^aies County Chronicle, of Maj^ 21, 1863, contained the followinjf 
account of an incident that occurred at the l)attle of Chanccllorsville : 
" The io2d N. Y., remained in tlic rillc-pits with the 6otli N. Y., when all 
the rest of the 3d Briji;ade, 12th Corps, had retired on account of the ter- 
rible fire which enfiladed them. The rebels, yelling like devils, rushed 
down upon them and the 12th Georgia regiment sprang in among the 
io2d, calling out, 'You are our prisoners.' ' Not by a damned sight,' 
shouted the boys of the ro2d, and they disarmed the Georgia 12th. taking 
their stand of colors and marching them off prisoners of war in the midst 
of the fight. While this was going on, a rebel officer jumjied in among 
them, and seeing them mixed— part butternuts and part blue jackets- 
called out, 'What regiment is this ?% 'The io2d N. Y.' ' Hell !' said 
he, * I suppose I am your prisoner, then. Well, bully for you. I am a 
New York boy, myself." 



62 THE MILITAEY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH REGIMENT. 

The One Hundred and Fifth Regiment, Colonel James M. 
Fuller, was organized March 15, 1862. The regiment was 
formed by the consolidation of seven companies recruited in 
Genesee County, and three in Monroe County. The One 
Hundred and Fifth served in the Third Corps of the Army 
of Virginia, from June 26, 1862, takiug part in General 
Pope's campaign, and afterwards served in the First Corps of 
the Army of the Potomac. On the 17th of March, 1863, the 
regiment, then under Colonel John W. Shedd, was consoli- 
dated into five companies and transferred to the Ninety- 
fifth New York Volunteers, and was eventually mustered 
out June 18, 1865, near Washington, D. C. 

In Company B were the following residents of Yates 
County : 

Charles F. Rudgers, enlisted First Lieutenant, promoted to 
Captain ; Privates, Asahel Bennett, Thomas Creed, Jacob J. 
Greening, Ephraim Jones, Benjamin Snyder, Paul Wheeler. 



CHAPTER VL 

The One Hundred and Twenty -sixth Regiment of Infantry. 

ABEAHAM LINCOLN, riesident of the United States, 
received, on the last of June, 1802, a communication 
signed by seventeen of the War Governors of the North, 
recommending him to "fill up all military organizations then 
in the field that had become reduced by the unavoidable 
casualties of the service, and to create new regiments for the 
defence of positions gained, by calling on each State for its 
quota of a body of men sufficient for such purposes." The 
President's reply, in part, was as follows : 

"Fully concurring in the wisdom of the views expressed 
to me in so patriotic a manner by you in the commiiuication 
of the 28th of June, I have decided to call into the service 
an additional force of 300,000 men. I suggest and recom- 
mend that the troops should be chiefly infantry. I trust 
they maj' be enrolled without delay, so as to bring this un- 
necessary and injurious civil war to a speedy and satisfac- 
tory conclusion." 

The call for troops, made as above by the President, was 
dated July 1st, and on the 2d a proclamation was issued by 
the Hon. Edwin D. Morgan, Governor of New York, for the 
raising of the quota of the State. Governor Morgan subso- 
(|ucntly issued an order fixing the quota of the several coun- 
ties, and requiring a regiment to be raised in each senatorial 
district, which for the time was re-named, "Regimental Dis- 
trict." For each district a war committee was appointed to 
take charge of the recruiting of the regiment of that district, 
and to recommend the proper persons to officer such regi- 
ment. The war committee appointed by the Governor for 
the Twenty-sixth Senatorial District held the first meeting 
at Geneva, on the 11th of July, said committee being com- 
posed of certain prominent citizens from the counties of On- 
tario, Seneca, and Yates. From the last named county the 



64 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

members of the war committee were as follows : Hou. 
William S. Briggs, County Judge, Morris Brown, Esq., 
Stafford C. Cleveland, Editor of the Yates County Clironide, 
Charles S. Hoyt, M. D., Meletiah H. Lawrence, Esq., Hon. 
Darius A. Ogden, and General Alexander F. Whitaker. 

Recruiting immediately commenced, and on the 4th of 
August the rendezvous for the regiment to be raised in this 
district was opened at Camp Swift, Geneva. The position 
of commandant of this post Avas first offered to the Hon. 
Charles J. Folger, of Geneva, and then to the Hon. Darius 
A. Ogden, of Penn Yan. Each having in turn declined, the 
Hou. Eliakim Sherrill, of Geneva, was chosen and was com- 
missioned Colonel of the Regiment upon its organization. 
War meetings were held in all parts of the senatorial dis- 
trict, particularly in our county of Yates, where great enthu- 
siasm was manifested, and recruiting went on rapidly. Com- 
pany A, recruited entirely in Yates County, was the first 
company in the new regiment to rendezvous at Camp Swift. 
The second was Company B, recruited principally in Yates 
County. Recruits from this county were also in companies 
C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and K. On August 20th the regiment, 
which was called the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth New 
York Volunteers, was organized, and on the 22d it was reg- 
ularly mustered into the United States service for three 
years.* 



* Colonel Ephraim M. Whitaker, of Penn Yan, one of Yates County's 
patriotic citizens, having conceived the idea of presenting the new organ- 
ization with a stand of colors, by his own personal efforts collected the 
money and made a trip to New York to procure the material for a flag, 
which was made and wholly finished by the ladies of Penn Yan. 

Made of heavy silk, surrounded by an elegant fringe, inscribed with 
heavy silk embroidery, and mounted upon a staff, upon which rested a 
splendid silver eagle with spread wings, a more beautiful and elegant flag 
never swung to the breeze, the total cost of which was $250.00. It was 
designed tliat the presentation should be made by the Rev. Frederick 
Starr, Jr., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, on behalf of the Sol- 
diers' Aid Society, of Penn Yan, of which Mrs. Morris Brown was then 
President, but,iupon reaching Geneva, it was found that some of the peo- 
ple of that place were a little sensitive in regard to allowing so much 
glory to Penn Yan, so the Penn Yan folks, with that modesty which al- 
ways characterizes them, consented to have the presentation made on be- 
half of the ladies of the Senatorial District, which was done. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 65 

On that date the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regi- 
ment comprised 39 officers and 95G enlisted men, or a total 
of 995. The regimental and line officers at the time were as 
follows : 

Officers. — Colonel, E. Sherrill, Geneva; Lieutenant-Col- 
onel, James M. Bull, Canandaigua; Major, W. H. Baird, 
Geneva; Quartermaster, J. K. Loring, Waterloo; Surgeon, 
Fletcher M. Hammond, Penn Yan ; First Assistant Surgeon, 
Charles S. Hoyt, Potter; Second Assistant Surgeon, Pierre 
D. Peltier, Canandaigua; Chaplain, T. Spencer Harrison, 
Dundee ; Sergeant-Major, D. C. Farrington, Geneva ; Quar- 
termaster-Sergeant, John Stevenson, Jr., Seneca Falls ; Com- 
missary-Sergeant, Richard Macey, Geneva; Sutler, J. D. 
Cobb, Geneva. 

Line Officers. — Company A, Captain, T. N. Burrill ; First 
Lietenant, S. A. Barras; Second Lieutenant, G. D. Carpen- 
ter ; Company B, Captain W. A. Coleman ; First Lieutenant, 
R. A. Bassett ; Second Lieutenant, M. H. Lawrence, Jr.; 
Company C, Captain, W, Scott ; First Lieutenant, T. R. 
Lounsbury ; Second Lieutenant, A. W. Porter; Company 
D, Captain, P. D. Phillips ; First Lieutenant, C. A. Rich- 
ardson ; Second Lieutenant, S. F. Lincoln ; Company E, 
Captain, H. D. Kipp ; First Lieutenant, George C. Pritchett; 
Second Lieutenant, J. H. Brough; Company F, Captain, 

The event took place on August 22d, the same day on which the Regi- 
ment was mustered'into the United States service. A procession of citi- 
zens was formed under direction of Colonel K. M. Whitaker, of Penn 
Yan, as Marshal, escorting the flag to Camp Swift. Arriving upon the 
ground, the Regiment was formed in a hollow square, preparatory to re- 
ceiving the flag. From 8,ooo to lo.ooo people were present to witness the 
ceremony. 

The following ladies from Penn Yan comprised the committee on pre- 
sentation : Mrs. Captain T. N. Burrill, Mrs. Colonel E. M. Whitaker, 
Mrs. F. H. Griggs, Mrs. C. G. Judd, Mrs. J. V. Van Alen. 

The flag fell into the hands of the enemy bj' the surrender of Harper's 
Ferry, and was taken to Richmond. At the close of the war, it, with 
others, was brought to Washington and stowed away in the War Depart- 
ment. I'ourteen years aft.erward, through the cflbrts of the Hon. H. G. 
Lapham, then Member of Congress, it was brought back and presented to 
the 126th Regiment Association at its Annual Reunion held at Grove 
Springs, and has since been sacredly guarded by that Association. 



66 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Isaac Shimer ; First Lieutenant, Ira Munson ; Second Lieu- 
tenant, T. E. Munson ; Company G, Captain, J. F. Aikens ; 
First Lieutenant, Frederick Stewart ; Second Lieutenant, S. 
H. Piatt ; Company H, Captain, O. J. Herendeen ; First 
Lieutenant, G. N. Redfield ; Second Lieutenant, A. R. 
Clapp ; Company I, Captain, B. F. Lee ; First Lieutenant, 
G. Skaats ; Second Lieutenant, G. L. Yost ; Company K, 
Captain, Charles M. Wheeler ; First Lieutenant, H. C. Law- 
rence ; Second Lieutenant, I. A. Seamans. 

The regiment left Geneva for the front, August 16, 1862, 
and arrived at Baltimore the next day. By orders given by 
the veteran. General John E. Wool, who commanded the 
Middle Department, the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth 
proceeded to Harper's Ferry, reaching there the 28th. The 
regiment had been directed to report for instnictiou and 
duty to Colonel D. H. Miles, then commanding at Harper's 
Ferry, and which, on its arrival, was already occupied by the 
Thirty-ninth and One Hundred and Eleventh Regiments 
New York Volunteers, the Thirty-second Ohio Volunteers, 
the Twelfth New York State Militia, the First Rhode Island 
Battery, and a portion of the Fifth New York Heavy Artill- 
ery. The forces at Harper's Ferry were augmented, Sep- 
tember 2d and 3d, by the arrival, from Winchester, of troops 
under General White, consisting of the One Hundred and 
Fifteenth New York Volunteers, the Ninth Vermont, the Six- 
tieth Ohio, the Sixty-fifth Illinois, and some other regiments. 
On the 13th, 14th, and 15th of September, Harper's Ferry 
was invested by three divisions of the Confederate army, 
commanded, respectively, by Generals McLaws, Walker, and 
"Stonewall" Jackson. Early in the morning of the 13th, 
the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment advanced 
from Harper's Ferr}' to Maryland Heights. It there re- 
ceived the main force of the enemy's attack, and made, under 
very disadvantageous circumstances, a brave and creditable 
defence. Its loss in this engagement was thirteen killed * 
and forty-two wounded. Among the latter was Colonel 
Sherrill, who, receiving a severe wound in the face, was for 



* lyieuteuaut Alfred R. Clapp, of Companj- H, was killed in this action, 
being the first officer killed belonging to the regiment. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 67 

some time disabled from active service. On the 15tli the 
garrison at Harper's Ferrj surrendered on parole. The 
causes which are said to have brought about this disastrous 
result need not here be stated, other than to mention that 
there was then, and has since been, a diiference of opinion 
as to who should be charged with the responsibility or the 
blame." Having marched to Annapolis, the One Hundred 
and Twenty-sixth Kegiment was transferred to Camp Doug- 
las, Chicago.! At this place were located for two months 
its far from desirable quarters, where the accommodations 
and sanitary arrangements were alike injurious to the health 
of all and fatal to many. Adjutant J. Smith Brown, of 
Colonel Berdan's United States Sharpshooters, here joined, 
on the 17tli of November, the One Himdred and Twent}- 
sixth, having accepted the adjutancy of the same. The reg- 
iment was exchanged November 19th, and proceeding to 
Washington, was re-armed. The winter of 1862-63 was 
passed in camp at Union Mills, Ya., doing picket duty along 
the banks of the famous Bull Run. On the 27th of January, 
1863, Colonel Sherrill having sufficiently recovered, rejoined 
the regiment, which, during his absence, had been under the 
command of Lieutenant Colonel James M. Bull. The camp 
was moved, March 2d, to Centerville, Va., where the One 



*The unnecessary fall of this place awakened the deepest indignation, 
and the blame was laid, now on Halleck, and now on Miles, and again on 
McClellan. Colonel Ford, who commanded the Heights, also came in for 
his share of the blame. The disgraceful affair, however, is surrounded by 
no difficulties. Colonel Miles was not a fit man to command the place, 
as had been fully shown in his conduct at the first battle of Bull Run, and 
should not have been put there. His death, after he had hoisted the white 
flag, saved him from further disgrace.— //?a^/^'j>''^ History of the Great 
Rebellion, Vol. 2. 

t On the ridiculous idea ot using the 126th to fight the Indians in Minn- 
esota, the regiment was sent in rough box cars to this camp, which, as a 
place of residence, was the most aljominable. Mrs. A. M. Willson, in 
her book, " Disaster, Struggle, Triumph," says: "The camp had been 
crowded with rebel prisoners from Fort Donelson, and elsewhere, who 
had been recently exchanged, and left it empty of everything but filth, 
rats, and other vermin not to be mentioned to ears polite, which Burns 
called 'crawlin' ferlies,' and the Union soldiers dubl)ed 'gray-backs.' " 
Passenger cars were kindly provided to bring back the 126th to Washing- 
ton. 



68 THE MILITAKY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Hundred and Twenty-sixth united with the balance of a 
brigade, composing the Thirty-ninth, the One Hundred and 
Eleventh, and the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth New York 
Volunteers, and commanded by Brigadier General Alexan- 
der Hays, who had won distinction in the Peninsular cam- 
paign. On the 24th of June the regiment joined the Army 
of the Potomac, then marching to intercept Lee, who was 
making a second attempt to invade the North. The One 
Hundred and Twenty-sixth now became a part of the Third 
Brigade of the Third Division of the Second Army Corps, 
under Hancock. Brigadier General Hays was at this time 
assigned to the command of the Third Division, and was 
succeeded as commander of the brigade by Colonel George 
Lamb Willard, of the One Hundred and Eleventh New York 
Volunteers. 

After a most fatiguing march from Centerville, the One 
Hundred and Twenty-sixth arrived in the early morning of 
the 2d of July on the battlefield of Gettysburg. Toward 
night it took part, along with the brigade, in a glorious 
charge that resulted in the defeat and dispersion of the op- 
posing forces of Southerners. As this charge was being 
made. Colonel Willard, the brigade commander, was killed, 
while on the side of the enemy fell Barksdale, who had com- 
manded a Confederate brigade at the taking of Harper's 
Ferry. During the terrific connonading between the two 
armies, with which began the engagement of the day follow- 
ing, volunteers from the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth 
Eegiment came forward and manned the guns in the batter- 
ies where the regular artillerymen had been killed or 
wounded. When, a little later, Pickett's grand assault was 
made against the Federal lines held by the Second Corps, 
the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth acted well its part to- 
wards the repulse of the foe. Five stands of colors w^ere 
taken by the regiment on this occasion. Captain Morris 
Brown, Jr.. of Yates County, captured, with his own hands, 
one of these standards, on which Avas inscribed, " Harper's 
Ferry," and the names of eleven other battles. The surren- 
der of Harper's Ferry was redeemed at Gettysburg. The 
brave Colonel Sherrill, who, when Colonel Willard fell, had 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 09 

succeeded to the command of the Third Brigade, was mor- 
tally wounded, expiring the next day, and most fittingly on 
the anniversary of American Independence, Four other 
commissioned officers'" and fifty-five enlisted men belonging 
to the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment were killed 
in this one of the most important battles of the war, while 
eight commissioned officers! and 172 enlisted men were 
wounded. Among the slain were the non-commissioned offi- 
cers, Sergeant-Major Henry P. Cook, and Color-Sergeant 
Ei-asmus E. Bassett, both of Yates County, the latter of 
whom fell during the fight of July 2d while bravely carrying 
the regimental colors.:}: An active part was taken by the 
regiment, after the battle, in the pursuit of the enemy. § 

From Gettysburg until the close of the war, the One Hun- 
dred and Twenty-sixth participated in twenty different bat- 
tles and skirmishes. In the autumn of 1863 the regiment 
won additional honor for its conspicuous gallantry in the 
battles of Auburn Ford and of Bristow Station, which were 
fought, respectively, in the morning and afternoon of Octo- 
ber 14tli, and in which the loss in killed and wounded was 
41. Severe skirmishing also took place along Mine Run on 
the 27th, 28th, 29th, and 80th of November. The services 
of the regiment were again called upon in the grand recon- 
noissance made February 6, 1864, by the Army of the Poto- 
mac at Morton's Ford on the Rapidan. On the 24th of 
March, Lieutenant-Geueral U. S. Grant arrived and estab- 
lished his headquarters at Culpepper Court House. The 
rejjciment having been transferred to Barlow's division, en- 



* Captains Isaac Shinier, Orrin J. Herendeen, and Charles M. Wheeler, 
and Lieutenant Rufus P. Holmes. 

t Captains John H. Brough, Henry B. Owen, and Charles A. Richardson, 
Lieutenants vSidney E. Brown, Pratt Dil)l)le, Ashbrah Huntoon, Jr., Mel- 
etiah H. Lawrence, Jr., and Jacob Sherman, the last officer, mortally'. 

t A second stand of colors had been received from the Government 
upon the return of the Regiment to Virginia after its exchange. 

? The Regiment went into the battle with 30 officers and 425 enlisted 
men bearing arms. Its loss was 231, as stated. There were but four reg- 
iments in the engagement that lost a greater number in killed and 
wounded than did the 126th N. Y., and one of those, (the 11 ilh N. Y.,) 
formed a part of the same brigade. 



70 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

tered the spring campaign of 1864 with less than 300 men, 
of whom 100 were on duty as provost guard at corps head- 
quarters. The Army of the Potomac crossed the Eapidan on 
the 4th of May, and was afterwards engaged in the following 
battles, in all of which the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth 
Kegiment took part : May 6th and 7tli in the Wilderness,) in 
this battle Brevet-Major General Alexander Hays was killed 
while gallantly rallying his brigade,) May 10th at Po Eiver, 
May 12th to the 18tli at Spottsylvania,* where the Second 
Corps, to which the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Eegi- 
ment belonged, made a grand charge on the enemy's works, 
capturing 400 prisoners, '20 guns, and 30 stands of colors, to- 
gether with the Confederate Generals Edward Johnson and 
G. H. Stewart, who were taken to the rear and put under 
guard of colored soldiers. From the 23d to the 31st, sharp 
skirmishing occurred along the North Anna Iliver and along 
the Tolopotamy Creek. The One Hundred and Twenty- 
sixth Regiment then took part in the terrible battle of Cold 
Harbor from the 1st to the 12tli of June. On the 16th the 
regiment moved to the front of Petersburg, and in the en- 
gagement on that day, Colonel William H. Baird was killed. 
Heavy fighting also occurred here on the 17th and IStli. 
The Second Corps, on the 21st, advanced to the left of Pe- 
tersburg, and on the 22d was attacked by the enemy in 
force and on the left Hank. The One Hundred and Twenty- 
sixth Regiment was at this time commanded by Captain 
Morris Brown, Jr., of Yates County, wdio fell with others of 
merit in the heat of the action.! 

On the 26th of July the regiment was engaged in battle at 
Deep Bottom, on the James, and from the 14th to the 20tli 



* At Spottsylvania, Lieutenant George A. Sherman was killed, and Cap- 
tains Morris Brown, Jr., and Winfield Scott, and Lieutenants John F. 
Randolph, (afterwards Adjutant.) and Samuel Hughes, were wounded. 

tFrom the ist of May to the 23d of June, 1864, the following officers 
were killed and wounded : Lieutenant Colonel William H. Baird, Captains 
Morris Brown, Jr., and Henry B. Owen ; Lieutenants Ashbrali Huntoon, 
Jr., Martin V. Stanton, and John A. McDonald, killed; Captain Ira Mun- 
son and Adjutant Spencer F. Lincoln, mortally wounded, and Captain 
Charles A. Richardson, Lieutenants Milo H. Hopper, and John H. Hurl- 
burt, wounded. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 71 

of August at Strawberry Plains. Having aided effectively 
in the destruction of the Weldon Railroad, the regiment was 
attacked on the 25th, at Reams's Station. In the following 
spring of 1865" the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regi- 
ment participated in the assault, made March 25th, on the 
lines around Petersburg just after the attack by Lee upon 
Fort Steadman. From the 29th to the 31st the regiment 
was engaged on the skirmish line along the Boydton Plank 
Road. When the grand advance of the army began, the 
Third Brigade, in which was included the One Hundred and 
Twenty-sixth Regiment, took a particularly active part, and, 
led by the gallant General C. D. MacDougall, charged (April 
2d) and carried the enemy's intrenchments at Southerlaud's 
Station. The Confederates were again encountered April 
7th at Farmville and at Appomattox on the 9th, where, on 
the latter date, Lee surrendered to Grant.f The One Hun- 
dred and Twenty-sixth Regiment having resumed its march, 
passed, on the 7th of May, through Richmond. Here it was 
greeted by the One Hundred and Forty-eighth New York 
Volunteers, in which regiment companies B, F, and I, had 
been recruited in Yates County. This was the first time the 
two regiments had met while in the service. The One Hun- 
dred and Twenty -sixth proceeded to Washington, where, on 
June 2d, orders were received for the regiment to be mus- 
tered out and sent to the State rendezvous, and on the 3d 
the regiment was mustered out. The next day the men left 
Washington for Elmira, arriving at that place on the 6th, 
and there meeting their former colonel, James M. Bull. The 
One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment, numbering at 
this time 221 men, received final payment and discharge at 
Elmira, June 16 and 17, 18C5..1: 

* Oil account of the severe losses sustained, the regiment was consoli- 
dated on the 24th of December, 1S64, into a l)attalion of five companies. 

t Captain John B. Geddis having been severely wounded in the engage- 
ment at Boydton Plank Road, the regiment, which now numljcred 46 
muskets, had since been commanded by Captain I. Hart Wilder. 

I During its term of service the regiment lost sixteen commissioned 
officers, killed in action or died of wounds received in battle, a loss 
greater in proportion to its number of officers than that sustained by any 
other regiment from tlie vState of New York, and exceeded by but few in 
the service. 



72 THE MILITARY HISTORY OP YATES COUNTY. 

The following were the regimental and line officers of the 
One Hundred and Twenty-sixth on the mustering out of the 
regiment : 

Major, J. Smith Brown, Penu Yan ; Adjutant, John F. 
Eandolph,t Penn Yan ; Quartermaster, John C. Stanton, 
Geneva ; Surgeon, Fletcher M. Hammond, Penu Yan ; Assis- 
tant Surgeon, Ferdinand M. Pasco, lied Creek; Chaplain, T. 
Spencer Harrison, Dundee. Compan}^ A, Captain Ira Hart 
Wilder; First Lieutenant, Samuel Hughes ;t Company B, First 
Lieutenant, Milo H. Hopper ;t Second Lieutenant, Charles A. 
Garlinghouse ; Company C, Captain, John A. Geddis ; First 
Lieutenant, Thomas R. Lounsbury ; Second Lieutenant, Jor- 
dan Snook ; Company D, Captain, Ten Eyck Munson ; First 
Lieutenant, Charles W. Watkins ; Company E, First Lieu- 
tenant, Henry M. Lee ; Second Lieutenant, Clinton E. Pas- 
co; Sergeaut-Major, Albert S. Andrews; Quartermaster- 
Sergeant, John Davis; Commissary Sergeant, Charles R. 
Lisk ; Hospital-Steward, George W. Becker ; Principal Mu- 
sician, Lyman E. Jacobus. 

Muster-in roll of Companies A and B, with Yates County 
recruits in companies C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and K. 

Company A — Truman N. Burrill, Captain; Samuel A. 
Barris, First Lieutenant; George D. Carpenter, Second Lieu- 
tenant ; Morris Brown, Jr., Orderly ; Samuel Wilson, First 
Sergeant, Charles Forshay, Second Sergeant ; Wallace Betts, 
Third Sergeant; O. M. Paris, Fourth Sergeant; Daniel Kel- 
ly, First Corporal ; Smith Fuller,* Second Corporal ; Barn- 
ard Gelder, Third Corporal ; Charles Stebbins, Fourth Cor- 
poral ; David H. Goti',*'' Fifth C^orporal ; Smith Stebbins,t 
Sixth Corporal ; Lot W. Rogers, Seventh Corporal ; Charles 
Norcott, Eighth Corporal ; William Beebe, Drummer ; James 
McAllister, Fifer. Privates, Richard M. Allen,t Warren Al- 
len, William Axtell,t Oliver Baker,§ William Baker, Daniel 
J. Beyea, Henry Bilson,§ Levi P. Brazee,t George Burch, 
James Burns, George A. Boyington, Alvah B. Chissom,§ 
Levi Cole,t John Conklin,§ John Cummings, Eben B. 
Danes,:t William H. Dubois,^ A. R. Feagles,§ Daniel W. 
Finchjt John H. Frost,t John H. Garrison,! Barnard F. Gel- 

* Killed. tWouuded. jDied. § Deserted. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 78 

der," AVilliam Haiuer, Francis A. Harford,:}: John Harris, 
James Hoiidorson,t Abiier Henries, § AVilliaui Henries,:}: 
James K. Hibbard,:j: AVilliani P. House, Neil Kelly, Russell 
A. Lincoln, Orson E.. Linkletter, David Little, John C. Mace, 
Patrick Mauley, John D. Mayuard, Geori^e W. McKniglit, 
Arthur AV. Middleton,! George Millis,t Charles E. Moore, 
Henry O. Moore, Alexander Moshier,t Lewis Murphy, 
Charles M. Nicholson,* John J. Oakley, Alfred C. 01ds,t 
David H. Paris, Peter F. Paris,! John W. Parker,t Harlow 
F. Parsons,^ Lewis T. Partridge, Francis E. Pool,t Robert 
H. Pool,* William J. Pool, Charles H. Powers,! Calvin L. 
Reed, Sidney E. Rice, William Robinson,^ James Ryan, Al- 
bion C 8heppard,t Cyrus Sherwood, William H. Shoe- 
maker,! Spencer Slingerland, Charles W. Sterling, George 
T. Steveus,§ William W. Strobridgo,! Charles P. Strong, 
David D. Taylor, David E. Taylor,! James Taylor, David O. 
Tears, Thomas Tobin,* Isaac Traverse,^ Spencer Turner,§ 
Alexander Turner,:}: Phineas Tyler,! William R. Tyndall,* 
Thaddeus B. Twitchell,'"' John Vaughn, James E. Warner, 
Charles E. Waters, Martin Youngs. 

Company B. — William Augustus Coleman, Captain; Rich- 
ard A. Bassett, First Lieutenant (promoted to Captain,) ; 
Meletiah H. Lawrence, Jr., t Second Lieutenant; Oscar C. 
Squires,'!' First Sergeant ; T. Spencer Harrison, Second Ser- 
geant; Erasmus E. Bassett,* Third Sergeant; Henry P. 
Cook,* Fourth Sergeant; Henry O. Childs,§ Fifth Sergeant; 
Edwin Jessup,t First Corporal ; William McAllister, Second 
Corporal; Edward Kuapp,t Third Corporal; Martin V. Mc- 
Carrick,:]: Fourth Corporal; Elias A. Norris," Fifth Corporal ; 
George Chapman,* Sixth Corporal; Samuel A. Nichols,* 
Seventh Corporal; Henry S. Nicliols,t Eighth Corporal; 
Privates, AVilliam H. Armstrong, t Charles W. Austin,§ Mel- 
vin Bunco,* Rollin G. Beach,* William P. Bo wen,!. James F. 
Butler,§ James Badger,§ Oren Bates,! Andrew Brace, Reu- 
ben Bullock,! Nathan D. Beeden,t John Blansett,t James M. 
Booth,! Moses U. Booth, t Isaac Bellis,* William Cassion,t 
Edwin Coryell, t Benjamin F. Chase, Isaac P. DePew, Cliarles 
H. Dunningjt George W. Davis,* Oren Edgctt,! Rowland 

* Killed, t Wounded. jDied. ^Deserted. 



74 THE MILITARY HISTORY OP YATES COUNTY. 

LeRoy Embree," Horace F. Ellis," John W. Finger, Morti- 
mer Garrison,* Charles W. Gaylord,* James H. Griggs, 
James K. P. Huson,* Christopher Hoaghtailing,* George 
Hays,§ Will L. Hobart,* William A. Hays,§ Amos V. Hough- 
tailing,;!: Charles M. Hyatt,t Ellsworth Haight,:|: Egbert C. 
HopkiuSjt Frank R. Hamlin, Alexander H. Houglitailing,§ 
Charles C. Hicks, t James E. Hicks,t Joseph Hollowell,* 
James H. Lathyt, Luther C. Lott,t Richard H. Miles, Nel- 
son Millis,:j: James H. Moshier, Edgar F. Millard, Anson Mat- 
thews,:}: Thomas T. McCarrick,t George Moore, Elias A. 
Norris, Peter M. Norman, t John H. Osborne, Caleb J. Os- 
borne, § Charles R. Pinneo, Franklin S. Pettingill,t David 
Perigo,§ Stephen C. Purdy,t Orren Potter, Amos J. Potter, t 
Andrew Putnam,:]: Albert A. Quick,* William Raymond,* 
John Nelson Rooney, Joseph B. Snyder,§ Orlando B. 
Smithf Albert S. Sprague,| Wilber F. Stanton, Robert B. 
Sutton, 1' Charles P. Stevens, Asa Sherwood,* Charles A. 
Seward,§ Albert Thomas, Lewis Trimmer,* George Tyler,* 
Joseph R. Tuttle," John R. Tuttle,* Wilham H. Thomas,t 
James H. Updike, James E. Walker,§ Jerry Wall, Josiah 
Wolf,§ Richard Wheaten, David J. Wilkin, t Luther 
Weaver.'!" 

Company C. — Albert F. Dow and Myron C. Morse, both 
transferred from Company A. 

Company D. — Henry W. Bradt, Charles W. Ford,* Deca- 
tur A. Hedges, t Albert A. Murdock, Eugene M. Smith. t 

Company E. — John H. Brough,t Second Lieutenant (pro- 
moted Captain) ; Fayette Green,t First Sergeant; John F. 
Randolph'!' (enlisted Private and promoted Corporal, Ser- 
geant, Sergeant-Major, First Lieutenant, and Adjutant) ; 
Charles E. Raymond, Musician ; Privates, Aaron H. Abeel, 
Jewett Benedict, Robert D. Blauvelt,!- Albert L. Bogart, 
Jerome Brink, Taylor Brink, James A. Creed,:}: Jonathan 
Creed,t Thereon T. Dunn,!- Alonzo Harris,t Franklin R. 
Knapp,§ John Olf,* Edwin Palmer,! Henry Runyan, Sher- 
man W. Robinson,! Byron W. Scott,t Stephen Walker, 
Henry Wilson.* 



* Killed, t Wounded, j Died. ^ Deserted. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 75 

Company F. — John M. Barden,t Eli M. Hazlet,t and Ab- 
uer W. Shearmau. 

Company G. — Fretlerick Stewart, First Lieutenant; De- 
Witt C. Farringtou, Sergeant Major; Privates, William Bain,§ 
John Barron,t Patrick Bulger,t James Collins, John P. Cul- 
ver, Daniel Day,* John Dunnigan,* Frank Dunnigan," John 
Dafty, Byron K. Feagles,* Jacob Goodsell, George Henry ,§ 
David J. Hoft"man,t Daniel Mead,§ James Place,! Norman 
Potts,:',: A. J. Ptali)li,t Milt'red Eector,t John Rector,.}: James 
Snyder,:}: Charles B. Shaw,:}: James Toms.^ 

Company H. — Justus H. Cooley, Jr.,:}: Corporal; Privates, 
Nathaniel J. Briggs, Abijah DePew. 

Company I. — George Donnelly, private. 

Company K. — William L. Criscadon,t Corporal; Privates, 
John C. Adams,"''" George W. Ervvin,t George V. Harris, 
James Norm an, § Hiram AVilson. 

COLORS OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIXTH, N. Y. V. 

The beautiful flag presented by the patriotic ladies of the 
Twenty-sixth Senatorial District on the organization of the 
One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment having fallen into 
the hands of the enemy by the surrender of Harper's Ferry, 
as already narrated,! the second stand of colors was received 
from the Government upon the return of the regiment to 
Virginia, after its exchange, and in the first battle in Avhich 
the colors were borne (Gettysburg) they received seven mus- 
ket shots and were twice torn by shells. 

In that dreadful charge of the Third Brigade, on the 2d 
of July, 1863, the flag was carried by Sergeant Erasmus E. 
Bassett, of Com])any B, and almost in the moment of victory 
it was seen to falter, for its bearer was shot through the leg, 
but it did not fall. Rallying his guard and cheering those 
around him, the young soldier pressed on, regardless of his 
wound, but another shot from a Confederate, not five paces 
distant, pierced his heart, and he fell dead, without a strug- 
gle or a groan. Not unavenged, however, for a shot from 
Corporal Byron F. Scott, of Company E, one of the color 
guard, laid the Southerner dead by the side of his victim. 

* Killed, t Wounded. J Died. ^Deserted. 
fSee note, page 64. 



76 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Upon the fall of Bassett, Sergeant Ambrose Bedell, of 
Company E, seized the colors and bore thern through the 
engagement, notwithstanding a wound in the hand, and car- 
ried them the next day when Pickett charged our lines on 
Cemetery Hill, but another shot tore his hand and arm so 
that the colors fell from his grasp. They were seized before 
they touched the ground by an officer and delivered to Cor- 
poral Henry Mattoon, of Company D, who carried them for a 
few minutes, when he fell, sliot through the neck and shoulder, 
and Private Theodore P. Vickery caught and bore them 
aloft for an instant, when he, too, was shot, and fell severely 
wounded. Yet through the smoke and blaze of battle the 
regiment could say, "Our flag is atill there!" For Private 
Lewis Clark, of Company K, a modest, delicate youth, with 
a slender frame, snatched the colors as they were falling, and 
bore them aloft in advance of the line. For this gallant act 
he received the commendation of General Hays, who wit- 
nessed it, and was promoted to a sergeantcy. 

After the battle of Gettysburg Sergeant Milo H. Hopper, 
of Company D, took the colors and carried them through 
the battles of Auburn Ford, Bristow Station, Mine Kun, 
Morton's Ford, and in the campaigns of 1864, from the Rap- 
idan to Petersburg, until the 9th of June at Cold Harbor, 
when he was appointed Sergeant-Major, and Sergeant James 
Harper, of Company G, took the colors and carried them 
until the 22d of June, 1864. On that day the Second Corps 
was advanced, leaving a wide gap between its left and the 
right of the Sixth Corps. Barlow's Division being on the 
left of the line, the Third Brigade, of which the One Hun- 
dred and Twenty-sixth New York Volunteers formed a part, 
was thrown forward into a partially wooded country, without 
support or protection upon its left. The enemy taking ad- 
vantage of the situation, advanced a large force around Bar- 
low's left and closed up on him from front, flank, and rear. 
Barlow himself barely escaped capture, while the larger por- 
tion of several of his regiments were surrounded by the 
enemy and made prisoners. But the Third Brigade (to 
which the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth belonged), under 
General MacDougall, fought its way out, but with great loss. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 77 

Captain Morris Brown, Jr., commanding the regiment, was 
instantly killed, and James Harper, the color-bearer, was 
shot, and fell into the hands of the enemy. Theodore P. 
Vickery, avIio was wounded at Gettysburg while carrying the 
colors, was at hand in this time of need to bear again that 
battle-torn flag, but a fatal bullet pierced his body and he 
fell lifeless. Milo H. Hopper, who had sacredly guarded 
the colors through the terrible battle scenes of nearly a year 
unscathed, and who had so recently resigned his trust to 
James Harper, was also stricken down by a bullet through 
his right thigh, and the colors fell into the hands of the 
enemy. A new stand of government colors was immediately 
presented to the regiment, which was now reduced to sixty- 
seven officers and enlisted men present for duty. 

These colors were carried by Sergeant Covert Barnum, of 
Company C, until the close of the war, and were then re- 
turned to the Government, by whose order they were trans- 
ferred to tlie Governor of the State of New York and are 
now deposited in the Bureau of Military Statistics at Albany. 



CHAPTER VIL 

The Eighth, Twentieth, and Twenty-Second Regiments, Cavalry — The 
Norfolk Brigade Baud — The Fifteenth and Fiftieth Regiments, En- 
gineers. 

THE EIGHTH CAVALRY, 

COLONEL Samuel J. Crooks received authority to re- 
cruit a regiment of cavalry to be known as the Eighth 
Keo-iment. It was organized for a three years' service, at 
Eochester, Nov. 14, 1861. Companies A and G, containing 
recruits from Yates County, were mustered into the United 
States service Nov. 23d and Nov. 28th, respectively. The 
regiment served in the Eighth Corps of the Army of the Po- 
tomac in its various campaigns in Virginia. 

When Harper's Ferry was invested in September, 1862, 
the Eighth New York Cavalry cut its way out through the 
enemy's lines, capturing Longstreet's train and over one 
hundred prisoners. The Eighth Cavalry has the credit of 
opening the great three days' fight at Gettysburg — the great- 
est battle of the war (July 1, 2, and 3, 1863), 

The Eighth Cavalry likewise performed a distinguished 
part, when "Little Phil" Sheridan, under Grant's orders, 
swept the Shenandoah Valley." The list of engagements in 
which this regiment participated are as follows: In 1862, 
^Vinchester (May 25th), Harper's Ferry (Sept. 14th), An- 
tietam (Sept. 17th), Snicker's Gap (Oct. 27th), Pillamount 
(Nov. 1st), Union (Nov. 2d), Upperville (Nov. 3d), Barber's 
Cross Roads (Nov. 5th), Amesville (Nov. 7th and 12th). In 
1863, Freeman's Ford (April 15th), Beverly Fordt (June 
9th), Middleburg (June 21st), Gettysburg (July 1st, 2d, and 
3d), Williamsport (July 6th), Boonsborough (July 8th and 

* " I met him at Charlestown and he pointed out so distinctly how each 
army lay; what he could do the moment he was authorized, and ex- 
pressed such confidence of success that I saw there were but two words 
of instructions necessary — Go in ! " — General Graiii's Official Report. 

t In this battle the Eighth Cavalry lost its gallant Colonel, Benjamin F. 
Davis, and had thirteen other officers either killed or wounded. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 79 

9tb), Funkstown (July 10th), Falling Water (July 13tli), 
Chester's Gap (July 27th), Brandy Plains (Aug. 1st and 
2d), Culpepper (Sept. l.Stli), Eaccoon Ford (Sept. 14tli), 
Jack's Shop (Sept. 22d), Germania Ford (Oct. 10th), 
Stephensburg (Oct. 11th), Brandy Plains (Oct. 13th), Oak 
Hill (Oct. ISthj, Bealtowu (Oct. 2Gth), Muddy Run (Nov. 
8th), Locust Grove (Nov. 27tli). In 1864, Barnard's Ford 
(Feb. 6th), Craig's (^hurcb (May 5th), Yellow Tavern (May 
11th), Meadow Bridge (May 12tb), Hawes's Shop (June 
3d), White Oak Swamp (June 13tli), Malvern Hill (June 
lotli), Nottoway Court House (June 23d), Roanoke Station 
(June 2;')th), Stoney Creek (June 28th), Winchester (Aug. 
16th), Summit Point (Aug. 25tb), Opequan (Sept. 19th), 
Front Royal, (Sept. 21st), Tom's Brook (Oct. 9th), Cedar 
Creek (Oct. 19th), Back Road (Nov. 12th). In 1865, Five 
Forks (April 1st), Appomattox (April 9th). il The Eighth 
Cavalr}^ then commanded by Colonel Edmund M. Pope, 
was mustered out at Alexandria, Va., June 27th, 18()5. 

The following were the Yates County recruits in Com- 
panies A and G : 

Company A. — Alfred E. Miller, Second-Lieutenant; 
Neadham Nortlirup, Farrier and Blacksmith; Jerome M. 
Doubleday,:!". Sergeant; William H. Anderson,t Corporal; 
Frank A. Thompson, Corporal; Privates, Robert B. Dike- 
man, James Downe3%§ Edward Easling,t Daniel Gage, John 
Lassen," Charles P. Stevens, John VanHorn. 

Company G. — Frank O. Chamberlain, First-Lieutenant; 
Elias V. Rugar, First-Sergeant, promoted to Captain ; Wil- 
liam H. H. Page, Sergeant; Oscar J. Bassett,:}: Corporal; 
E. Delafield Dwelle,t Corporal; Ebenezer AVashburn, Sad- 
dler; Levett C. Page, Wagoner; Privates, Henry T. Barnes, 
Warren O. Card, George I. Cronk, John W. Davis, AVil- 
liam DeScham, Daniel Hull, Avery Ingraham, Aaron Lam- 
eraux, George W. Molatt, Ashel L. Nichols, Thomas S. 
Powers, Edwin A. Scott, Theodore M. Stearns, Charles 
Stearns, Arnold Walbridge, Thomas Waller, Charles H. 
Warren. 

(I New York in the War of the Rebellion. ' 

* Killed, t Wounded. |Died. ^Deserted. 



80 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

THE TWENTIETH CAVALRY. 

The Twentieth Regiment of Cavah-j, otherwise known as 
the McClellau Cavah-y, was organized and mustered by 
companies into the service of the United States for tliree 
years at Sackett's Harbor ; Company L, in which were re- 
cruits from Yates County, being mustered in at that place 
Sept. 22, 1863. The regiment left the State Sept. 23d, and 
served in the Twenty-second Corps, and afterwards in the 
Eighteenth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, during the 
campaign of 1864. The Twentieth Cavalry was then trans- 
ferred to the Army of the James, and served in the division 
commanded by General Kautz during the Appomattox cam- 
paign, and was mustered out at Manchester, Va., July 31, 
1865. During its term of service this regiment took part in 
the following engagements: In 1864, Smithfield (Feb. 1st), 
Suffolk (Feb. 20th), Currituck (April 23d), Chuckatuck 
(June 6th), Wood's Mills Hill (June 24th), South Quay 
(July 3d), Winton (July 29th), Guiam's Ford (Aug. 12th), 
Jamestown Island (Sept. 3d), Murfree's Depot (Oct. 16th). 
In 1865, Darbytown Road (Jan. 13th), Campaign of the Car- 
olinas ( March 1st to March 26th), Five Forks (April 1st), 
Fall of Petersburg (April 2d), Deep Creek (April 3d and 
4tli) Rice's Station (April 6th), Burke's Station (April 7th), 
Appomattox Court House (April 9th).* 

Company L, after entering the service, was consolidated 
with Company M and was known as such. The officers and 
men from Yates County in this company were as follows : 

Frederick Stewart, Captain ; H. Clay Stewart, First-Lieu- 
tenant; Charles E. Hyatt, Orderly; Privates, Charles W. 
Austin, John W. Austin, Melvin Brown, Patrick Brennan, 
Peter Cain, George Graj^ Willian Kiune}^ Frederick M. 
Klise, George Leonard, Augustus McKinne}', Samuel 
Whitehead, Myron H. Watrous, Arthur C. Weare. 

THE TWENTY-SECOND CAVALRY. 

The Twentj'-second Regiment of Cavalry was organized 
at Rochester and mustered by companies into the United 
States service^ for three years. Company A, recruited in 

* New York in the War of the Rebellion, 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 81 

part in Yates County, was mustered in at Rochester, Dec. 
20, 1863. In Marcli, 1804 the regiment left the pLace of 
rendezvous for the front, and served in the Cavah-y Corps of 
the Army of the Potomac through the Wilderness cam- 
paign," and afterwards in the Shenandoah Valley campaign, 
under the chief command of General Philip H. Sheridan. 
The Twenty-second Cavalry, commanded by Colonel H. B. 
Reed, was mustered out Aug. 1, 1865, at Winchester, Va. 
The regiment, while in service, took part in the following 
engagements: In 1864, Ellis Ford (Jan. 12th), Wilderness 
(May 5th to May 7tli), Spottsylvania (May 8th to May 21st), 
North Anna (May 22d to May 26th), Tolopotomy (May 27th 
to May 31st), Cold Harbor (June 1st to June 12th), Chicka- 
hominy (June 13th), White Oak Swamp (June 14th), Mal- 
vern Hill (June 15th), Kings and Queens' Court House 
(June 18th), Dinwiddle Court House (June 22d), Nottoway 
Creek (June 23d), Stanton Bridge (June 25th), Blackwater 
(June 27th), Stoney Creek Station (June 28th), Reams Sta- 
tion (June 29th to June 30th), Smithfield (Aug. 21st), Win- 
chester Turnpike (Aug. 18th), Charlestown (Aug. 21st), Kear- 
neysville (Aug. 25th), Winchester and Ashby Gap Turnpike 
(Sept. 1st), BerryviUe (Sept. 3d), White Post (Sept. 13th), 
Snicker's Gap (Sept. 17th), Opequan (Sept. 19th), Front 
Royal (Sept. 21st), Luray Valley (Sept. 22d), Staunton (Sept. 
26th), Waynesborough (Sept. 28th), North River (Oct. 3d to 
Oct. 5th), Brook's Gap (Oct. 6th), Tom's Brook (Oct. 9th), 
Cedar Creek (Oct. 13th), Ninevah (Nov. 12th), Rood's Hill 
(Nov. 22d), Moorfield Pike (Nov. 30th), Lacy Springs (Dec. 
21st). In 1865, Holly Springs (March 4th), New Market 
(March 6th), Rood's Hill (March 7th).t 

In Company A were the following citizens of Yates Coun- 
ty, recruited by Lieutenant (afterwards Captain) Henry P. 
Starr, brother of the Rev. Frederick Starr, Jr.: Amos E. 



*0n the morning of June 30, 1S64, Jared Henry Olnistead, George 
Barrett, Amos E. Wheeler, and Llewellyn Baxter, all of the 22d Cavalry, 
were taken prisoners near Stoney Creek, Va. Fred Hcnning was also 
taken prisoner, but escaped. Jared Henry Olnistead was taken to Libby 
Prison, and afterwards to Anderson ville, Ga., where he died on the 25th of 
August, 1864. 

i New York in the War of the Rebellion. 



82 THE MILITAKY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Wheeler, Corporal ; Lewis Moore, Sergeant ; Privates, 
George Barrett,!' Llewellyn Baxter,!' Frederick Eaves,* Jo- 
seph Ham, Frederick Henning, Miles B. Hodge,t Jacob 
Hodge,t George AV. Moxcey, Jared Henry Olmstead, I Tru- 
man Slater, Miles T. Terrill. Company G, John Carr, pri- 
vate. 

THE NORFOLK BRIGADE BAND. 

At all military posts of any consequence the army regula- 
tions directed that bands should be stationed. Under such 
regulations Majot Hanford Striible received orders in De- 
cember, 1862, from General B. F. Butler, to enlist a post 
band, to be stationed at Norfolk, Va. Major Struble came 
North and enlisted into the service the Brass Band of Dun- 
dee. This band was mustered in at Elmira, Jan. 4, 1863. 
From Elmira the band went by rail to Baltimore, and by 
steamer from Baltimore to Norfolk. The members of this 
band at the time of enlistment were as follows : John Shoe- 
maker, (Leader, with the rank of First Lieutenant,) E flat 
soprano; Stephen Bennett, tirst B flat cornet; Darius R. 
Perry, second B flat cornet ; Melville K. Perry, baritone ; 
Nicholas Christler, first alto ; Jewett Benedict, E flat alto ; 
Charles Post, second tenor; Osborne Clark, B flat, base; 
Oliver H. Perry, E flat, base; Dr. John Hamilton Shaw, E 
flat base; Martin Beeman, second E flat soprano; Clarence 
Smith, E flat, base; Anthony Selleu, base drum; Charles E. 
Bassett, side drum ; Thomas F. Willis, cymbals. Some 
changes afterward took place in membership, and in other 
respects. Dr. John Hamilton Shaw was discharged for 
physical disability, and died at Watkius July 7, 1864, on his 
way home. Charles E. Bassett died at Norfolk on the 29th 
of June of the same year, at the early age of fifteen years, 
and was succeeded as snare drummer by William H. Glad- 
ding, who w^as transferred for the purpose from Company 
M of the Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery. 

The quarters occupied by the Norfolk Post Band (also 
known as the Norfolk Brigade Band) during its stay in that 
city was a commodious brick house on South Catharine 



* Killed, t Died. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 83 

Street, foinierl}^ owiietl by the Confederate General Taylor, 
and whicli had been confiscated by the Government. The 
parade ground, where the musicians composing this band 
would generally play, was located on Freemason and Cum- 
berland Streets. Their melody -was also heard at Fortress 
Monroe, Hampton, Weldon, Petersburg, and other places. 
They were mustered out at Norfolk July 9, 1865. From 
Norfolk they went by steamer to Baltimore, and thence by 
rail to their homes. Their excellent playing had made them 
during their stay in Norfolk, popular favorites, and it was 
with real regret that the residents saw them leave.* 

THE FIFTEENTH' ENGINEERS. 

The Fifteenth Regiment of Engineers, Colonel J. McLeod 
Murphy commanding, was first organized in New York City 
and there mustered into the service of the United States for 
two years, June 17, 1861. In November, 1864, the regiment 
was re-organized by the addition of seven new companies, 
F, G, H, I, K, L, and M. 

Companies H, I, K, and L were composed of recruits 
originally enlisted for the Fiftieth New York Engineers. In 
Companies I and K were recruits from Yates County, Avho 
joined the Fiftieth at Avon, From Avon they went by way 
of Elmira to Baltimore, where they stayed a few days and 
were then sent by transport to City Point. At this place 
they were transferred from the Fiftieth to the Fifteenth En- 

The Norfolk (Va.) Post of July 12, 1865, thus expressed a public sen- 
timent : " Departure of the Post band. — We regret to have to inform 
the lovers of good music, and who does not love music, that the Post 
Band, which, for the past two years, has catered for the musical taste of 
our citizens, has been discharged from the service and left for home. 
This will be a sore loss to our citizens and one that will be felt. On Sat- 
urday night, previous to their departure, they serenaded a number of 
their warm friends in the city, among them Mr. Cook, who invited them 
into his house and did the honors. They next paid a visit to the hos- 
pitable mansion of Mr. Smith, who, after they had played several fare- 
well airs, entertained them in a magnificent style till a late hour. 

This band has won golden opinions among the people of Norfolk, and 
leave regretted by all. Their leader, Mr. John Shoemaker, and the sec- 
ond leader, Mr. Bennett, were especiallj' the favorites of the community, 
and bear with them the most friendl}^ feelings and Ijcst wishes of our peo- 
ple. Notwithstanding we are indel)tcd to them a great deal, they have 
left many notes behind which it will take some time to collect." 



84 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

gineers. They were stationed during the winter of 1864-'65 
in front of City Point, and were engaged in working on the 
fortifications known as the Nine Mile Works. After the fall 
of Petersburg (April '2, 1865) they went, by transport, up 
the James River to Richmond, taking seventy pontoons, 
and there laid a pontoon bridge across the river. This pon- 
toon bridge was intended to take the place of the regular 
bridges burned by the Confederates when Richmond was 
evacuated. The pontoon bridge that was then laid extend- 
ed from Richmond to Belle Isle, and from Belle Isle to 
Manchester. They remained at Richmond, doing guard 
duty on this bridge, for thirty days, and were then ordered 
to march to Washington. At Washington they were mus- 
tered out, receiving final pay and discharge at Elmira June 
15, 18G5. 

The Yates County recruits in these companies were as 
follows: Company I, Harlan P. Bush, John L, Bronson, 
Joseph E. Lewis, James Spencer, Charles M. Whitney, Al- 
bert T. Wilson. Company K, Martin E. Arnold, Abel 
Briggs, Barrett A. Boyd, Norton Conley, Joseph Eaves, 
Jacob Goodsell, John Jones, Norman A. Parshall, George 

B. Parshall, Peter Race, John Philbrook, Edward Sheri- 
dan, Peter Smith, Benjamin Taylor, Rodney Tupper, James 
H. Warner, Alonzo Weller. 

THE FIFTIETH ENGINEERS. 

Colonel (afterwards Brigadier General) Charles B. Stuart 
received authority July 26, 1861, to recruit a regiment of in- 
fantry, which was organized at Elmira, and was designated 
Sept. 20th as the Fiftieth Regiment of Infantry. Companies 
A and E, containing recruits from Yates Count}', were mus- 
tered in the service of the United States for three years, re- 
spectively, Sept. 18th and Aug. 20th. Company M (a new 
compan}') joined the command in Feb. 1864. The regiment 
left the place of rendezvous at Elmira for the front Sept. 
20, 1861, and after serving as Infantry at Washington, D. 

C, was, on the 22d of October, converted into an engineer 
regiment, and was designated as the Fiftieth New York En- 
gineers. It was also commonly known as Stuart's Engi- 
neers. The regiment served with distinction from March, 



THE MILITAllY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 85 

1862, ill the volunteer brigade of engineers, Army of the 
Potomac, laying pontoon bridges when required, and per- 
forming other engineer duty. At the crossing of the Rap- 
pahannock, in the opening of the Fredericksburg campaign, 
the Fiftieth Engineers laid three pontoon bridges under a 
heavy and deadly fire from the enemy's sharpshooters* 



* " It was a most solemn scene, those brave engineers, (50th New York) 
pushing their pontoons out upon the ice, and fearlessly moving them 
around in the water to their proper positions. Any moment might ter- 
minate their existence. They were iipon the very threshhold of eternity. 
Passing along the opposite bank, or grouped around the picket fires, were 
to be seen the rebel sentinels, almost within pistol-shot. Occasionally 
tliey would stop a moment to view our operations, then resume their 
beat as unconcernedly as if nothing unusual was transpiring. The bridge 
was headed directly for one of their fires. Nearly one quarter of it was 
completed without interruption, when, suddenly, as the Court House 
clock struck five, two signal guns boomed away in the distance, and were 
immediately followed by a sharp volley of musketry. Lieutenant-Colonel 
Bull, two Captains, and several men fell dead; others tumbled headlong 
into the water and sank to the bottom, or were rescued by their brave 
comrades and brought bleeding and dripping to the shore. We were not 
unprepared for this. Before the enemy had time to re-load, our artillery 
planted on the bluffs overhead, and infantry drawn up along the river's 
bank, returned a heavy fire upon the buildings in which the sharpshooters 
were secreted. * * * * It did not seem possible that any animate thing 
could have survived this bombardment; and there were in fact no signs 
of life visible ; but no sooner had the engineers again resumed operations 
than they were greeted with a fresh shower of bullets. How the sharp- 
shooters had managed to live through all that fire and smoke was to us 
almost a miracle. Yet they were alive, and as plucky as ever, and our 
gunners returned to their work. General Burnside now almost despaired 
of effecting a crossing. Nothing but some brilliant coup-de-uiain would 
accomplish it. He accordingly decided upon sending a body of men over 
in boats who should rush suddenly upon the concealed foe, and hunt 
them from their holes. The 7th Michigan and 19th Massachusetts were 
designated for this purpose. The gallant fellows never flinclied from the 
duty assigned them, but, taking their places in the pontoons, pushed 
bravely out into the stream, regardless of the rapid volleys of musketry 
which were poured into them. In a moment they had gained the oppo- 
site shore, and fearlessly sweeping up the bank, dashed into the houses, 
and shot, bayoneted or captured the small force which had occasioned us 
so much trouble and delay. A hundred dark, swarthy Alabamians and 
Mississippians were brought back, amidst the wildest cheers of the spec- 
tators who had witnessed the heroic act." — ''Story of the ^^d N. Y. 
loot's, or Two Years' CiDupaigniu}:^ in Virginia and Maryland,'" by Da- 
vid W.Judd. 



86 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

(Dec. 11, 1862.) Stuart's Engineers served in their partic- 
ular capacity in Virginia until the close of the War, and, 
commanded bj Colonel William H. Pettis, Avitli Major Ira 
Spaulding, second in command, were mustered out at Fort 
Barry, Va., June 13 and 14, 1865. 

The engagements in which the Fiftieth Engineers took 
part were as follows: In 1862, Siege of Yorktown (April 
12tli to May -Ith), Seven Days' Battles (June 25tli to July 
2d), Fredericksburg (Dec. 11th to Dec. 15th). In 1863, Pol- 
lock's Mill Creek (April 29th to May 2d), Chancellosville 
(May 3d), Bank's Ford (May 4th) Deep Kun (June 5th), 
Mine Run Campaign (Nov. 26th to Dec. 2d). In 1864, Wil- 
derness (May 5th to May 7tli), Spottsylvauia (May 8tli to 
May 21st), North Anna (May 22d to May 26th), Tolopotomy 
(May 27th to May 31st), Cold Harbor (June 1st to June 
12th). In 1865, Deep Bottom (Jan. 27th to Jan. 29th), 
Hatcher's Run (Feb. 5th to Feb. 8th), White Oak Road 
(March 28th to March 31st), Fall of Petersburg (April 2d), 
Appomattox Court House (April 9tli).^ 

The enlistments from Yates County in companies A and 
E were as follows: 

Company A — J. Loren Robbins, Second Lieutenant ; 
Francis M. Hallorau, Sergeant ; Daniel M. Hulse, Sergeant; 
James Campbell, Corporal ; John H. Harrison, Corporal. 
Privates, Mortimer Adams, Albert Armstrong, James P. Ans- 
ley; George Beemau, Kingsbury M. Bennett, John Brown, 
(promoted to Lieutenant,) John Burns, John A. Butler, Or- 
rin A. Burrill, John Campbell, Rowland Champlin, Roswell 
S. Clark, Robert N. Coons, Theodore Criscadon, Hugh Cris- 
cadon, William C. Davenport, James Durham, James H. 
Dunham, Thomas Evans, Daniel J. Fitzer, Abram Fredeu- 
burg, Sylvester Fredenburg, George B. Gray, Charles G. 
Gottfried, Michael Hallorau, Zachariah S. Helm, Weitzel M. 
Henderson, Hiram Hibbard, Henry V. L. Jones, James H. 
Kelly, James F. Lake, Edward Lewis, Jesse Lott, Alonzo T. 
Lyon, James Mace, Nelson Madison, John AV. McFarland, 
Stephen Matterson, Thomas Miller, James M. Miller, Edwin 
Miller, Asa Phelps, William Poyneer, Sidney E. Reynolds, 

*New York in the War of the Rebellion. 



THE MILITAKY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 87 

John R. Robinson, Joel Tomer, Richard M. Turner, John 
Turner, Henry Turner, Cornelius Van Huysen, Joseph G. 
Watktns, R. Wesley Welch, Leander S. AVhitehorn, Henry 
AVilliams, Joseph Worden, Charles AVright. 

Company E — Privates, John H. Brewer, Andrus H. Carr, 
Arnold Dawes, Hiram W. Lawhead, Philip R. Loder. 

Company G — Melville D. Miller, private, also artificer; D. 
Brewster Sayre, private. 

Company M — Asa Hedge, private. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The One Huudred and Forty-eighth Regiment of Infantry. 

IMPORTANT service to the Nation was rendered during the 
Great Civil War b}' the One Hundred and Forty-eighth 
Regiment, New York Volunteers, which was raised in the coun- 
ties of Yates, Ontario, and Seneca, and organized September 
14, 1862. At the time of its organization the fiekl and staff 
officers were as follows: Colonel, William Johnson, Seneca 
Falls ; Lieutenant-Colonel, George M. Guion, Seneca Falls ; 
Major, John B. Murray, Seneca Falls; Adjutant, Henry T. 
Noj'es, Starkey; Quartermaster, Albert Woodruff, Lodi; 
Surgeon, Henry Simmons, Canandaigua; First Assistant 
Surgeon, C. H. Carpenter, Phelps; Second Assistant Sur- 
geon, Frank Seelye, Eushville. 

In Yates County Avere recruited Companies B, F, and I.* 
Of these the following were the line officers: Company B. — 
Captain, Hiram T. Hewitt; First Lieutenant, Hanford Stru- 
ble ; t Second Lieutenant, George W. Waddell. Company 
F. — Captain, Harvey G. Gardner; First Lieutenant, Melvin 
D. Wilson ; Second Lieutenant, Aaron J. Cook. Compau}* 
I. — Captain, Martin S. Hicks; First Lieutenant, John Coo- 
le}' ; Second Lieutenant, Morgan D. Tracy, 2d.:{: 

The One Hundred and Forty-eighth left the place of ren- 
dezvous at Camp Swift, Geneva, on the 22d of September. 
The regiment, when it departed, consisted of twelve com- 
panies. Ten being the required number, orders were re- 

*The remaining companies of the i4Sth Regiment were recruited as 
follows: Companies A, E, and H in Seneca Count}- ; and Companies C, 
D, G, and K in Ontario County. 

t After a few months Lieutenant Struble was appointed to a position on 
the staff of General Egbert Viele, with the rank of Major, and served as 
Provost-Marshal of the cit}- of Portsmouth, Va. Later he served in tlie 
same capacity at Norfolk on the staff successivelj- of Generals Barnes, 
Potter, Wild, and Vodges, and still later as permanent aid on the staff of 
General George F. Shepley. 

t Resigned December 28, 1862. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 89 

ceivecl, on the arrival of the command (by steamer via Seneca 
Lake) at Watkins, directing two of the companies to return 
to Geneva. The two companies that returned became, on 
the 3d of October, part of the Forty-fourth llegiment, N. Y. 
V. One of these two had been raised in Yates County, and 
was at tirst Company M, of the One Hundred and Forty- 
eighth, and hiter new Company C, of the Forty-fourth. Its 
line officers were as follows: Captain, Bennett L. Munger; 
First Lieutenaut, Elzer B. James; Second Lieutenant, 
Charles Kelly."^' Tlie One Hundred and Forty-eighth Regi- 
ment proceeded from Watkins by rail, arriving at Baltimore 
the next moruing, and was there served with an excellent 
breakfast by the ladies of the city. The command went on 
to WashingtoQ, where it continued to drill for several days 
on Capitol Hill. It then left Washington, and, going by 
transport by way of Fortress Monroe, landed at Portsmouth, 
Va. From Portsmouth the regiment went by rail through 
the Dismal Swamp to Suffolk, and was there stationed on 
guard duty in the ritle pits. Suffolk was then being put 
into a state of defence by the Union forces commanded by 
General John J. Peck, of Syracuse. The One Hundred and 
Forty-eighth, after a few weeks, moved from the entrench- 
ments and encamped on Paradise Creek, near Portsmouth. 
The whole regiment then relieved the Nineteenth Wisconsin 
and moved and went into camp, part in Portsmouth and 
part across the river in Norfolk. The different companies 
composing the One Hundred and Forty-eighth were for a 
considerable time on detached duty, but were again collected 
together and all encamped in the court-house yard in Norfolk 
and in other parts of the town. Here they remained until 
the opening of the spring campaign of 18(54. The regiment 
then moved to Yorktown, and became part of the Second 
Brigade of the Second Division of the Army of the James, 
under the chief command of General B. F. Butler. 

The advance of this army up the James river began on 
the 4tli of May, 18()4. The One Hundred and Forty-eightli 
Regiment, going by transport, arrived and landed with the 
rest of the troops at Bermuda Hundred. Skirmishes with 

*See Page 51. 



90 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

the enemy occurred at Clover Hill on the 8tli, and at Swift 
Creek on the 12tli. Early in the morning of the 16th, dur- 
ing a heavy fog, a sudden and sharp attack was made upon 
our forces in front of Drury's Bluff" by the Confederates 
under Beauregard. The Union troops fought bravely and 
obtained some advantage, but Butler, evidently under a mis- 
apprehension, ordered a retreat. Another skirmish in which 
the One Hundred and Forty-eighth took part occurred on 
the 26th at Port Walthall Junction. General Butler's whole 
army returned to its entrenchments at Bermuda Hundred, 
from which position no offensive movement in the direction 
desired could possibly be attempted, as the enemy, intrench- 
ing strongly in his front, thus covered the railroads, the city, 
and all that was valuable to him. His army, therefore, 
though in a position of great security, was as completely 
shut oft' from further operations directly against Richmond 
as if it had been in a bottle strongly corked. It required 
but a comparatively small force of the enemy to hold it 
there.t 

The position at Bermuda Hundred could, according to the 
opinion of General Grant, be held by a less force than But- 
ler had under him, therefore, on the 24th of May, the Eigh- 
teenth Corps, in which was included the One Hundred and 
Forty-eight Regiment, was ordered to join the Army of the 
Potomac. The corps commander at that time was General 

*Tlie rebel plan, of massing brigade after brigade in line of battle and 
hurling them in rotation against us, was here tried, with very bad results. 
General Smith, with that forethought which is characteristic of him, an- 
ticipating some such move on the part of the enemy, had ordered a large 
quantity of telegraph wire to be intertwisted among the trees and under- 
growth which lay in front of our position. Wister and Burnham received 
the order and obeyed it. Heckman failed, unfortunately, to get it. 
When, therefore, the rebels charged upon our iutrenchments in the dull 
light, hundreds of them were tripped down and unable to tell the cause. 
As they lay upon the ground, our musketry-fire kept many of them from 
ever rising more. As with the first line, so with the second. They met 
the same fate. The third line fared no better, and this simple agency of 
a telegraphic wire, interlaced among the trees, played more havoc in the 
rebel ranks than anything else. The dead lay like autumn leaves before 
the front of Wister and Burnham. — Headley's History of the Great Re- 
bellion, Vol. 2. 

m 

t General Grant's Official Report. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 91 

W. F. Smith, familiarly known as "Balclj" Smith, and who 
hail formerly commanded a brigade, of which the Thirty- 
third New York Volunteers had formed a part. The One 
Hundred and Forty-eighth joined the Army of the Potomac 
by way of the White House, to which place it arrived by 
transport, passing down the James and up the York river. 
The regiment, then commanded by Colonel George M. 
Guion, participated in the battle of Cold Harbor (June 3, 
18G-4.) In the sanguinary contests in front of Petersburg a 
prominent part was taken by the One Hundred and Forty- 
eighth, particularly in the fight at Rowlett's House on the 
15th. At the Mine Explosion, on the morning of July 30th, 
the regiment, with its division, was ordered forward to the 
support of the attacking column that charged into the Cra- 
ter. On the 2ytli of September the very strong fortifications 
and entrenchments below Chapin's Farm on the north side 
of the James, and known as Fort Harrison, were carried, in 
an attack by the Eighteenth Corps, led by General E. O. C. 
Ord. The regiment distinguished itself in this action, and 
proved to all that its designation as "The Gallant One Hun- 
dred and Fort3^-eighth" was well deserved. In the assault 
on Fort Gilmore, however, on the next day, a repulse fol- 
lowed. At the second battle of Fair Oaks, fought October 
27th, the regiment suftered severely in killed and wounded. 
In the beginning of November the One Hundred and Forty- 
eighth Regiment w'as detailed, with other forces, to accom- 
pany General Butler to New York City, for the purpose of 
keeping order on election day, as it was anticipated that a 
riot would take place on that occasion.* The regiment, on 
its return to the seat of war, encamped at Deep Bottom, on 
the James, where it remained during the winter of 18G4-'G5. 
The tinarcami)aign opened in the spring of 1805, the One 
Hundred and Forty-eighth taking part in the engagement of 
March 31st at Hatcher's Run. 

On Sunday, the 2d of April, a grand assault was made by 
the whole army on the entire line of the enemy's fortifica- 
tions to the south of Petersburif. The Confederates made a 



*Tlie troops during their stay rciiiaiiicd on board their transports in 
the harbor, to be ready if needed. 



92 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

brave and determiued resistance at various points along the 
line of their intrenchments, particularly at Fort Gregg, but 
they were overcome and the fort captured by a gallant 
charge, in which the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Eegi- 
ment bore a noble share. General Sheridan, with an over- 
whelming force, had already swept around from the left, 
when the enemy gave it up and fled in confusion, leaving in 
our hands their guns and a great many prisoners. That 
night both Petersburg and Richmond were evacuated. 

On the following morning the portion of the army under 
command of General Weitzel marched into Richmond, with 
bands playing and colors flying."'^ The enemy in their re- 
treat had fired the city, and a heavy conflagration was then 
raging.f Among the subordinate officers, who, at that time, 



*Headley's History of the Great Rebellion, Vol. 2. 

tThe very remarkable scene, which was on that morning presented, is 
thus described by E. A. Pollard, the Southorn historian: "By 10 o'clock, 
when several thousands of the [Federal] enemy had marched into the 
city, the scene had become fearfully sublime. It was a scene in which 
the horrors of a great conflagration struggled for the forepart of the pic- 
ture, while the grand army, brilliant with steel and banners, breaking 
into the circle of fire with passionate cheers, and the crash of triumphant 
martial music, dazzled the spectator and confounded his imagination. 
The flames had already spread over the chief business portion of the city, 
brands were flying toward the capitol, and it seemed at one time as if the 
whole of Richmond would be destroyed — that the whole wicked city 
would rush skyward in a pyramid of fire. A change in the wind, how- 
ever, drove back the fire from the high plateau above Franklin Street, 
where, if the flames had once lodged, they would soon have traversed the 
length and breadth of the city. * * * AH that was terrible in sounds 
was added to all that was terrible in sights. While glittering regiments 
carried their strong lines of steel through the smoke ; while smoke- 
masked robbers fought for their plunder; while the lower streets ap- 
peared as a great pit of fire, the crater of destruction ; while alarmed cit- 
izens, who had left their property a ruin or a spoil, found a brief repose 
on the sward of the Capitol Square, whose emerald green was already 
sown with brands — the seeds of fire that the merciless wind had sown to 
the very door of the capitol ; while the lengthening arms of the confla- 
gration appeared to almost reach around those who had fled to the pic- 
turesque hill for a breath of fresh air — sounds as terrible and more vari- 
ous than those of battle assailed the air and smote the already overtaxed 
imagination. There were shells at the Confederate arsenal exposed to 
the fire, from the rapid progress of which they could no longer be res- 
cued, and for hours the explosion of these tore the air and shook the 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OP YATES COUNTY. 93 

entered Richmond, was General George F. Sliepley, whose 
chief of staff at the time was Major Hanford Struble, of 
Yates County.* President Lincoln, who liad been at Cit}' 
Point, also visited Richmond in the course of the day. Dur- 
ing the remainder of the week, the enemy (who, after the 
fall of Richmond, had retreated towards Dansville,) were 
hotly pursued, and the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Reg- 
iment was again in action on the Gtli at Rice's Station. i" On 
the 9tli of April Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court 
House. While in Richmond, after the surrender, the One 
Hundred and Forty-eighth had the pleasure of greeting 
(May 7th) the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth New York 
Volunteers, in which regiment a large proportion of the 
members were from the County of Yates. The One Hun- 
dred and Forty-eighth Regiment was mustered out at Rich- 
mond on the 20th of June. Tlie veterans who had com- 
posed the command then went by transport to Baltimore, 
and from Baltimore to Elmira, where they received final 
pay and discharge, July 3, 1865. From Elmira they went to 
their several homes, having performed for their country a 
service that will ever stand high in public estimation. 

The field and staff officers of the One Hundred and Forty- 
eighth, at the time the regiment was mustered out, were as 
follows: Colonel, John B, Murray, Seneca Falls; Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel, Fred L. Manning, Seneca Falls; Major, John 
Cooley, Penn Yan; Adjutant, Dewitt C. Wilber, Seneca 
Falls; Quartermaster, Charles S. Martin, Waterloo; Sur- 
geon, C. H. Carpenter, Seneca Falls; Chaplain, Ferris Scott, 
Phelps; Sergeant-Major, Myers T.Webb, Dundee; Com- 
missary-Sergeant, Rynear Tunison, Lodi ; Hospital-Steward, 
James M.Smith, Penn Yan; Principal Musician, George 
Beebe, Penn Yan. 

houses in their vicinity. Crowds of negroes roamed through the streets, 
their wild, coarse voices raised in hymns of jubilation, thanking God for 
their freedom, and a few steps further might be heard the Ijlasphemous 
shouts of those who fought with the red-handed fire for their prey." — 
Life of Jefferson Davis, zvilh a Secret History of the Confederacy. 

*See note 2, page 88. 

t Lieutenant Caleb G. Jackson, of Company I, was killed in this engage- 
ment, being the last man killed belonging to the regiment. 



94 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Line Officers. — Company B, Captain, H. H. Hopkins ; 
Company F, Captain, Aaron J. Cook ; First Lieutenant, 
Fred P. Cook ; Company I, Captain, Edward Cole ; Second 
Lieutenant, Luther S. Meeker. 

The muster-in roll of Companies B, F, and I is as follows: 
Company B. — Hiram T. Hewitt, Captain; Hanford Stru- 
ble, First Lieutenant; George W. Waddell, Second Lieuten- 
ant; Randall G. Bacon, Orderly; James Monroe Shoemaker, 
Second Sergeant; George Beebe, Third Sergeant; Legrand 
Terry, Fourth Sergeant ; Myers T. Webb, Fifth Sergeant ; 
Anson A. Baplee, First Corporal; Byron Beam, Second 
Corporal; Charles Smith, Third Corporal; Leroy Green, 
Fourth Corporal ; David Griswold, Fifth Corporal ; Perry 
W. DaneSjt Sixth Corporal; James H. Coons, Seventh Cor- 
poral ; John DeBolt," Eighth Corporal ; Privates, Henry N. 
Armstrong,* Samuel P. Benham, Alfred Brown, Charles AV. 
Bush, Andrew Bradley, Henry F. Buckley, Joseph Conklin, 
George W. Chamberlain, Daniel Cook, Foster P. Cook, 
Richard Chapman, Charles Chambers, William H. Cham- 
bers, Harmon (). Chambers, John Clark* George Coons, 
Joseph B. Clark,* Sanford B. Dickinson, Perry Dunton, 
Joseph A. Decker, William B. Davies, David Dunham,^ 
James M. Egerton, Alvin B. Eaves, James S. Ellis, Charles 
H. Elwood, Michael Fitzgerald, t James E. Foster, George 
G. Fulkerson, Lindla C. Foster, Benjamin Grace, Alfred 
Griswold, Charles W. Gabriel, Myron A. Guthrie, Samuel 
Headley, Albert Headley, Alexander P. Houghtailing, Ste- 
phen K. Halleck, Francis L. Hall, Freeman L. Hilliger,* 
John L. Headley, David Hughes, Volney S. Haff, John 
Kean, John H. Knapp, George Katterer,:|: Jerome B. La- 
fever, Thomas B. Little, Ehsha Lackey,^ George F. Mitchell,t 
Warren McDuffee, John Morrison, Samuel Minard, Andrew 
Morrison, Adam S. Miller, Theodore J. Murray, Thomas E. 
Raplee, Charles F. Rentz, Ira H. Robinson, Charles Ross, 
Charles Shiltz,* Lyman A. Stoll, Peter G. Swarts, Charles 
M. Swarthout, James M. Smith, Thomas J. Strait, Squire V. 
Straway, Mason Spink, Edward A. Tennant, Samuel R. Ten- 



* Killed, t Wounded. J Died. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 95 

nant/l, Georn;e E. Tulbs/I- James Tuttle, John H. Tymerson,! 
Nelson E. Woodruff, James M. Witler, George M. Winaus. 

Company F. — Harvey R. Gardner,t Captain ; Melvin D. 
Wilson, First Lieutenant; Aaron J. Cook,t Second Lieuten- 
ant; William S. Vorce, Orderly; Nathaniel H. Green, Sec- 
ond Sergeant ; Frank C. Fairchild, Third Sergeant ; William 
H. Kelsey, Fourth Sergeant ; Leroy J. Harkness, Fifth Ser- 
geant ; Robert Mills, First Corporal ; John Earl, Second 
Corporal ; William S. Huie, Third Corporal ; Charles W. 
Peters, Fourth Corporal ; William N. Reddout, Fifth Cor- 
poral; James M. Gates, Sixth Corporal; Charles S. Van 
Ness, Seventh Corporal; David Crist, Eighth Corporal; 
Philip Walthers, Jr., Henry A. Sayre,.}: Musicians; Ezra 
Prout}', Wagoner; Privates, James G. Ansley, George A. 
Ansley,! Jonas Austiu,§ William Blue,t George Broad- 
brooks,"" Lansford O. Babbit, John W. Barnes, Hiram H. 
Barnes," John H. Benedict, George W. Beuedic[,S Lewis R. 
Carvey, Owen Conway,t John Conway, Albert W. Clark, 
William H. Cole, John J. Conley,;j: William A. Carr, John S. 
Caton, William H. Crocker," Daniel Davis, Claudius C. 
Farr, George W. Fisher, George Ford, Joseph C. Foster, 
Jacob W. Fountain, William H. Fountain, William H. Fran- 
cisco, John C. Fox, Francis Farr, Frederick Green, Benjamin 
Gleason, Lyman Gray,;l: William Ginther," Nathan A. Gotf,* 
Lyman D. Green, I Myron F. Hawley, William T. Hawlej^, 
Henry Hiltebidal," George W. Hall, John Hanlon,* Jerome 
S. Johnson,* Jacob Korb, John J. Lawton,:j: Alanson E. 
L3^on, William Lamereaux, Wilber Loomis,| Daniel Mc- 
Ginniss, William Monagle, Ashley McDonald, George N. 
Miller,:]: Lawrence McCumber, Willis Nicholson, Martin W. 
Parsons, Ezra P. Pritchard,^ George H. Parsons, John 
Pierce, Jacob H. Radley, Josiah Reed, Barney C. Ross, 
Albert I. Sharp, Charles W. Stark, t Theodore M. Stearns, 
Samuel Salsbury, George Sherwood, § Joseph Sprague, I' John 
Shannon, John Slater," Loyal C. Twitchell, Manlius L. Ta}'- 
lor, Fraidclin Thompson, Norman Taylor,* Jonathan G. 
Twitchell, Robert ITnderhill,§ Abram Voorhees, William A. 
Wilson,!- William H. AVolvin, Levi Waters, Emory N. Wil- 

* Killed, t Wounded. J Died, g Deserted, 



9G THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

soii,§ George Wright,* Isaac Wilkins, Thomas F. Wells, 
Charles E. Wells, Abraham Youngs. 

Company I. — Martin S. Hicks,t Captain; John Cooley,t 
First Lieutenant; Morgan D. Tracy, 2d, Second Lieutenant; 
Edward Cole, Orderly; Charles C. Miller,t Leonard M. Bo- 
hall, Caleb G. Jackson,* Oliver F. Long, t Luther S. Meeker, 
Sergeants; J. Harvey Randall, Richard M. Jones, John L. 
Potter," Lawrence Cooney, Jr.,t Walter W. Becker, George 
Schofield, Samuel P. Strong, William Welcher,!' Corporals; 
Privates, George B. Alvord, Robert D. Brown, Lucius B. 
Bennett, Franklin D. Becker,:]: Isaac D. Blood, Martin But- 
ler, Isaac Benson, j: William P. Blouin, John Carr,t James B. 
Crouch, :j: Stephen Coon, William Cornell, Lorenzo D. Capell, 
Peter S. Conklin," Clark Castner, Ward Campbell,:}: Albert 
E. Dean, S. Decker, William A. Dunning,* Patrick Duffy,* 
Henry M. Dunbar,* Jordan Davis,t James H. Eckerson,*Wil- 
liam H. Fries,!' Peter Finger,t Oliver M. Finger,t George D. 
Feagles,* William D. Frye,* William Gallagher,! Edward L. 
Granger, George S. Gardner, Charles Gray, James German, 
Abraham Houghtailing, Henry Hurlbert,t Isaac Haunsond, 
Sidney House,t William Huber,t Benjamin F. Hood, J 
Robert Holmes, Jr., George Hillier, Luther S. Hayes, John 
J. Jackson,t John Keating, Stephen H. Kitch,t Dennis 
Lewis,! Simeon Lackey, Damon Lay,! William Matthews,! 
H. R. Meade,! Abraham Miller, Lewis B. Moon, Seely E. 
Palmatier, John D. Pool,! Lorenzo N. Pettit,! Oliver Press- 
ler,t Andrew J. Phelps, Willis E. Pierce,! Otis B. Ryall,! 
George Robertson, Aaron D. Robertson,! Jarvis W. Randall, 
Lewis B. Randall, Charles H. Reno, Frank Smith,! Gideon 
C. Spink, Isaac Spink, Luther Sisson, Alonzo Spears,! 
David Sands,! Edward H. Sine,! Philip L. Shaw,! Daniel S. 
Shaw,§ J. H. VanBenthuysen,* Augustus Whitaker, David 
P. Wilcox, William Wright,§ J. J. Wright,! Charles E. 
Willis,* Charles W. Wheeler, Lemuel Wheat, Alva H. 
Wheat,! John C. Youngs.§ 

Company E. — Ezra Fenner, Private. 

Company G. — Privates, Bennett Bogardus, Benjamin 
Miles. 



* Killed, t Wounded. J Died. ^Deserted. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The First Independent Battery— Battery B (Third Light Artillery)— The 
Fourteenth and Sixteenth Heavy Artillery. 

THE FIRST INDEPENDENT BATTERY. 

THE First ludependent Battery of Light Artillery was 
orgtanized and mustered into service at Auburn, Nov. 
23, 1861. It served in the Fourth Corps of the Army of the 
Potomac through the Peninsular Campaign, and in the Sixth 
Corps during the Gettysburg and Wilderness campaigns. 
It also served in the Shenandoah Valley and in the contests 
before Petersburg in the Twenty-second Corps, and again 
in the Sixth Corps to the close of the war. Commanded by 
Captain Andrew Cowan, it was honorably discharged and 
mustered out June 22, 1865, at Syracuse, N. Y. 

The following artillerymen in the First Independent Bat- 
ter}^ were from Yates County: Privates, John B. Cornell, 
John Lyon,* James Moon, Elijah Townsend. 

BATTERY B (THIRD LIGHT ARTILLERY). 

On the 17th of December, 1861, a new company, under 
Captain Joseph J. Morrison, t recruited in part in Penn Yau, 
was mustered into the United^States service for three years 
at New Y'ork. The company remained in garrison at Palace 
Garden in that city until the following March, when orders 
were received to go to the front. The company went from 
New York to Arlington Heights, and after being stationed 
in Fort Corcoran, Fort Ethan-Allen, and Fort DeKalb, was 
sent by transport to New Berne, N. C. At this place it was 
converted (in May, 1862) into a light battery, and was desig- 
nated as Battery B, of the Third Light Artillery. This bat- 
tery served in the artillery brigade of the Eighteenth Corps 
in the expedition from New Berne to Goldsboro (Dec. 11 to 
17, 1862), and participated in engagements at Little Wasli- 

* Wounded. 

tAfterwards Colonel of the i6th Heavy Artillery. 



98 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

ington, Kinston, Whitehall, Goldsboro, Hamilton, Southport 
Creek, and Wall's Mills. Battery B then served during 1863 
and the greater part of 1864 on St. Helena Island, near Port 
Royal, S. C, and on Seabrook Island, Folly Island, Morris 
Island, Cole's Island, John's Island, James Island, and Sul- 
livan's Island, in and about Charleston Harbor, taking part 
in the seige of and assault upon Fort Wagner, and the bom- 
bardment of Fort Sumter and of Charleston. 

In the last of November, 1864, General Foster, command- 
ing on the above mentioned sea islands, was directed by 
General Halleck to make a demonstration inland in behalf 
of General Sherman, who was then on his triumphant march 
across the State of Georgia. General Foster, taking five 
thousand men, ascended Broad Eiver (in South Carolina) on 
steamboats, landing at Devaux Neck. The advance under 
General Hatch (in which Battery B was included) having 
been sent forward to seize the Charleston and Savannah 
railroad, encountered (Nov. 30th) a strong Confederate force 
entrenched on Honey Hill, covering the railroad. A sharp 
conllict ensued, which lasted till nightfall.* The Union 
troops were repulsed, but they succeeded in cutting the rail- 
road and in tiring and destroying the railroad bridge over 
the Coosawatchie River. Battery B was afterward stationed, 
for about three weeks, at Fort Pocotaligo, there meeting 
Sherman's army, which had taken Savannah, and was on 
the march northward. At the fall of Charleston, Battery B 
was among the forces that occupied the cit}'. It then moved to 
Orangeburg, then to Brancliville, then to Columbia, and then 
back again to Charleston, embarking at that place for New 
York, and was mustered out July 13, 1865, at Syracuse, un- 
der Captain Thomas J. Mersereau. 

The following soldiers from Yates County served in Bat- 



* Private James H. Greening, of Battery B, was mortallj' wounded in 
this battle, and died at Hilton Head, S. C, on Christmas Day. The 
Vales County Chronicle mentioned him as follows : "James H. Green- 
ing died at Hilton Head, Dec. 25th, aged 28 years. He was wounded at 
the battle of Honey Hill, Nov. 30th. His father, Jacob Greening, died a 
soldier in this war, having served in the 105th N. Y. Vols. We learn 
that James proved himself a good soldier, and that he also evinced him- 
self a kind and dutiful son b3^ sending his wages to his mother." 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 99 

tery B, Third Light Artillery: George C.Breck, Second Lieu- 
tenant; Delos C.Hubbard, Drill Sergeant; Privates, Lee 
Bookstaver, Warren Brenenstull, James H. Eckerson, Wil- 
liam F. Edgett, Nelson Elliott, Michael Farrell, David 
Finger,!', Harlow Finger, James H. Greening," George J, 
Greening, Sjdvester Griswold, Aaron Grisvvold, Johnson 
Henries,'!' Albert Henries, John Hughes, Patrick Lahan, 
Edward M. Lester, John Light, Andrew J. Matthews, 
Darius Matthews, Stephen Matthews, Vosburgh McGlaugh- 
liu, George H. McGlaughlin,t Warren Miller,!' William H. 
Miller,'!' John S. Phelps, Charles A. Kector, John F. Eob- 
inson, James H. Smith, Albert Travis, Edward A. Travis, 
John Travis, Robert H. Wilson. Battery E, Charles Ham- 
mond, private. 

THE FOURTEENTH ARTILLERY ( HEAVY). 

The Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery, Colonel Elisha 
G. Marshall commanding, was organized at Rochester and 
numbered among its members many who had previously 
seen two years' military service. Companies G and L, 
each recruited in part in Yates County, were, respectively on 
the 7th of December, 18G3, and on the 8th of January, 18G4, 
mustered at Rochester into the United States service for 
three years. The two companies were then ordered to re- 
port for duty in New York Harbor. Company G was sta- 
tioned at Fort Richmond and Company L at Sandy Hook, 
together with Company M, in which commanded George 
Brennan, of Yates County, as First Lieutenant, afterward 
promoted to Captain. These three companies, with the 
rest of the regiment, remained serving as heavy artillery and 
infantry in New York harbor until April, 186-1, when orders 
were received to join the Army of the Potomac. The regi- 
ment, going by transport, united with this army at Wash- 
ington and became part of the Tlnrd Brigade of the First 
Division of the Ninth Corps.j In the Wilderness campaign 
(May 5 to June 2, 18G1) it was actively engaged, taking part 
in the following battles: The Wilderness, Spottsylvania, 

* Killed, t Wounded. 

|. The Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery was at this time formed 
into three battalions. 



100 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

North Anna, Tolopotomy, Betliesda Church, and Cold Har- 
bor. The regiment lost in this last engagement Captain 
Luther Kieffer and Lieutenant Elisha Bently, killed and one 
hundred and nineteen enlisted men killed, wounded, and 
missing. In assaults on the enemy's works in front of 
Petersburg the Fourteenth Heavy Artillery lost heavily in 
killed and wounded, among the former being Major Job C. 
Hedges, Captain Nimrod Underbill, Jr., and Lieutenant 
Andrew Gossin. At the Mine Explosion on the morning of 
July 30, 1864, the regiment was the first of the charging 
column to enter the Crater.* It here lost Lieutenant Ezra 
T. Hartley and nine enlisted men killed, and five officers 
and one hundred and eight enlisted men wounded and miss- 
ing. It then participated at the taking of the Weldon Rail- 
roadf (Aug. 18th to 21st), and in engagements at Pegram 
Farm (Sept. 30th) and Hatcher's Run (Oct. 27th). 

On the 25th of March, 1865, an attempt was made by Lee 
to break through Grant's lines, and a vigorous assault was 
made by the Confederates upon Fort Steadman. The as- 
sault was made at daybreak by two divisions under General 
Gordon, the Fourteenth Louisiana Tigers taking the lead, 
and the fort and two morter batteries adjoining it were taken. 

*A crater, a hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, and twenty feet deep 
appeared where the six-gun fort had been, over which hung a cloud of 
mingled dust and smoke like a great pall. The next moment came the 
roar of a gun, and then another and another, till a hundred cannon along 
our line were playing upon the rebel batteries. The bugles rang out, the 
drums beat, and in dashed Ledlie's division, Marshall's brigade leading 
the advance. Though taken wholly by surprise, the rebels rallied with 
wonderful quickness and in a short time, from right and left, their ar- 
tillery was in full play on the storming party, that, with loud cheers, 
charged on a run over the intervening space. The Fourteenth New York 
Heavy Artillery first entered the gap, followed by Marshall's second bri- 
gade, which went pellmell into the smoking crater, from the bottom of 
which protruded half buried limbs and mangled bodies of men. — Head- 
ley's History of the Great Rebellion^ Vol. 2. 

t Horace Greeley, in describing the taking of the Weldon Railroad 
{The Aincrican Conflict, Vol. 2), says: "After a pause he [Gen. Warren] 
moved on, aud was soon struck on his left flank — the enemy advancing 
by a road wholly unknown to our officers — and 200 of the Maryland bri- 
gade captured. The brigade, falling back under tlie wing of the 14th N. 
Y. Heav3' Artillery (now serving as infantry), that regiment stood its 
ground, aud b}- rapid and deadly volleys repelled the enemj'. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 101 

Here the triumph of the enemy ended. The assault on Fort 
Haskell, to the left of Fort Steadman, though determinedly 
made, was promptly repulsed. Companies G and H and 
six other comJ3anies belonging to the Fourteenth Heavy Ar- 
tillery were, at the time of this attack, stationed in a redoubt 
to the right of Fort Steadman, and Companies L and M 
were stationed in Fort Haskell. The regiment, § though 
surprised, fought bravely and grandly aided in repulsing the 
enemy, and also took a leading part in the counter-assault 
by which a portion of the Confederate outer works were 
captured. The Fourteenth Heavy Artillery further distin- 
guished itself in the capture of and entry into Petersburg 
on the 2d of April. The regiment, still commanded by 
Colonel Marshall, was honorably discharged and mustered 
out Aug. 26, 1865, at Washington, D. C. 

The citizens of Yates County in Companies G, H, L, and 
M, were as follows : 

Company G. — Privates, James E. Almy,t Samuel An- 
drews, George H. Blakesley, Dewitt C. Bassett, Levi R. 
Bassett, John A. Bailey,t Lee Bookstaver, Robert Bell, 
George W. Carr, Daniel Dailey,* George Davis, James A. 
Dayton, Andrew J. Dunn, Llewellyn Dunn, George B. 
Dunn, William Fowler,t George N. Ford, Adelbert Haight, 
Michael Halloran, James Hunter, Mason Lang, Amos Mc- 
Glaughlin, Michael Mahar,t John M. Mahan, Matthew 
Maddox, Charles L. Paris, Patrick Queenan, Benjamin 
Rhodes, George Reynolds, George F. Sprague, Charles 
Sliuter, Eugene L. Smith, Martin Scliiem, Seymour H. 
Shultz, Jeremiah E. Sprague, t (promoted to Sergeant, after- 
wards to Second Lieutenant,) Lee Thomas, John Tuell,^'" Oliver 
Wyman, Hazard Wheeler. Company H — Adelbert Dorman, 
James Peckins. Company L — Privates, Nathauiel S. Briggs, 



g The loss sustained by the 14th N. Y. Heavy Artillery in this action 
was nine officers and 265 enlisted men killed, wounded, and taken pris- 
oners. Major Charles H. Houghton, who was in command of the bat- 
talion at Fort Haskell, and through whose bravery the men were enabled 
to hold the fort until help arrived, was wounded and lost his leg. Ser- 
geants Stanford J. Bigelow and Thomas Hunter, both of Yates County, 
were here killed. 

* Killed, t Wounded. 



102 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Stanford J. Bigelow," (promoted to Sergeant), Dewitt C. Bell, 
Patrick Barrett, Henry O. Briggs, Isaiah D. Brockway,^ 
John S. Constantine, John Covert,t Heury Carey, Charles 
E. Downing, Andrew J. Dunn, John B. Dnnn,:[. George 
Hunter,t Thomas Hunter,* (promoted to Sergeant), George 
A. Jennison, Darwin Kiug, John Killcullen, Robert B. 
Lewis, George McDonald," George D. Moore, John Moxcey, 
Jr., Melvin Perry, John C. St. John,:}: Gideon C. Spink, 
"William D. Seamaus,t Samuel O. Wheaton, John W. Wood- 
ruflt',* Joseph Woolf. Company M — George Brennan, First 
Lieutenant (promoted afterward to Captain), William H. 
Gladding, Private (transferred to the Norfolk Post Band). 

THE SIXTEENTH ARTILLERY (HEAVY.) 

The Sixteenth Eegiment, Artillery, New York, Colonel 
Joseph J. Morrison commanding, was organized in the year 
1863 at New York City, and as rapidly as batteries were re- 
cruited and organized they were sent on to the South, locating 
at Yorktown and at Gloucester Point, Va. At the latter named 
place they went into winter quarters, remaining there until 
the spring of '64. At that time a portion of the regiment 
was sent to Williamsburg and Fort Magriider on the Penin- 
sula above Yorktown, and another portion to Yorktown, the 
rest remaining at Gloucester Point. 

In the latter part of the spring or early summer of the 
same year Companies A, B, C, F, G, and K, comprising a 
battalion under command of Major Frederick W. Prince, 
were ordered to Bermuda Hundred and served as infantry, 
and in this battalion Company (or Battery) G was com- 
manded by Captain Morris F. Sheppard, of Yates County. 
When General Butler, in July, called for volunteers to com- 
mence the digging of the Dutch Gap Canal, these six com- 
panies responded to the call and were the first to engage in 
that work. Later they were attached to the Second Brigade 
of the First Division of the Tenth Army Corps, under Gen- 
eral Terry, in the trenches in front of Petersburg, and while 
there were for many weeks under continuous fire by day and 

night. 

• 

* Killed, t Wounded. J Died. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 103 

In October they marched across the Peninsula with But- 
ler's army to Deep Bottom, and succeeded in reaching closer 
to Richmond than any other troops prior to this time. In 
fact they could distinctly hear the tire alarm bells, by which 
the residents called out the reserve. During this period 
they took part in a number of engagements, namely: West 
Point, Va., Dutch Gap Canal, Deep Bottom, Cox's Landing, 
James River, Petersburg Entrenchments, Signal Hill, Cha- 
piu's Farm, Laurel Hill,""' Darbytown Road and Charles City 
Road, Fort Fisher, Cape Fear River Entrenchments, Fort 
Anderson, Wilmington, and Northeast Branch of Cape Fear 
River, N. C. They were especially selected by General 
Terry to accompany his expedition, which succeeded in the 

*The New York Sunday Mercury of November 6, 1864, contained a 
letter from a member of the Sixteenth New York Heavy Artillery relating 
the part taken by that regiment in this engagement that had recently 
occurred in front of Richmond. From this letter the following extract is 
taken: "Officers were endeavoring with threats and blows to rally the 
men, and finally succeeded in forming a line of battle, with the First Di- 
vision of the Tenth Army Corps. The Second Brigade, called par excel- 
lence the fighting brigade, stood comparatively calm, awaiting the exultant 
Johnnys, who, after cautiously surveying the line, chose our regiments' 
position as the most salient point to attack, hoping we would give way, 
when the day would be their own, and our army forced back over the 
James or be annihilated. But they were mistaken. Our men never 
fired a gun till they approached within fifteen yards, when a rebel Cap- 
tain, planting his colors in the ground, shouted, 'Now, you damned 
Yankees, there is our flag; we will fight for it.' These were his last 
words on this earth — a ball entering his eye sent him to settle accounts 
with his Maker. The blaze from the musketry was terrific. Not a man 
flinched. Major Frederick W. Prince cooly cheered his men ; and, without 
his order, no wounded man was borne to the rear. When one dropped 
another immediately stepped into his place, and after three-quarters of an 
hour of as fierce fighting as old veterans declared they had ever witnessed, 
the Johnnys were glad to retire. The men were anxious to charge after 
the flag, but it was not permitted, as it was presumed the Rebs would not 
have displayed so much bravado if they were not well supported by artil- 
lery. Being in close line, individual bravery had no opportunity of ex- 
hibiting itself, but the conduct of Captains Green, Beach, and Sheppard, 
and Lieutenants Cook, Lawrence, Smart, Hall, and Foster deserves 
praise. Majors Prince and Pearce acquitted themselves very creditabl)', 
and tlie boys of the Sixteenth have shown themselves worthy of the good 
opinion always entertained of them by their Colonel, J. J. Morrison, and 
arc entitled to his gratitude. General Terry complimented the regiment 
twice during the day. Jackson." 



104 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

capture of Fort Fisher, and the brigade of wliicli they formed 
a part were the troops to which the Fort surrendered. Gen- 
eral Terry expressed his appreciation of the part taken b}^ 
this regiment by selecting Captain Sheppard, with a large 
detachment, to conduct the prisoners taken at Fort Fisher, 
Smithville, and other points in and about the Cape Fear 
River, to the North. Later, a portion of the regiment, with 
the rest of the troops under General Terry, captured Wil- 
mington (February 22, 1865), and a large number of Union 
prisoners from Salisbury, Raleigh, and Columbia were at 
this time transferred into the Federal lines. After Wilmius- 
ton and that part of the Carolinas had been practically 
abandoned by the Confederates, this regiment was detailed 
to positions of responsibility in and about the moutli of 
Cape Fear River. A portion, under Major Prince, was sta- 
tioned at Fort Fisher, and two companies at Smithville, un- 
der Captain Shepi^ard, who was also Provost-Marshal for 
that part of the State, a position, at that time, of great re- 
sponsibility. Later, in the summer of 1865, the several com- 
panies composing the regiment united near Alexandria, Va., 
and remained together until the latter part of August, when 
they were sent to Hart's Island and there mustered out. 

The citizens of Yates County in Battery G were: Morris 
F. Sheppard, Captain ; Putnam Demming, Orderly Sergeant; 
Privates, Cassius N. McFarreu, Addison R. Shultz, Andrew 
E. Ten Broek. 



CHAPTER X. 

The One Huiidrcd and Scvculy-uinlh Regiment of Infantry. 

AMONG the iiumy regiments wliicli, during the war, 
were furuished by the Empire State, the One Hun- 
dred and Seventy-ninth New York Vohinteers is entitled to 
prominence for the bravery and patriotism that this com- 
mand in several engagements dis])layed. The ten comjmnies 
of infantry, composing the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth, 
were raised in the following places: Company A, in Horse- 
heads; Company B, in Elmira; Company C, in Hornells- 
ville; Company D, in Dunkirk; Company E, in Buffalo; 
Company E, in Penn Yan; Company G, in Buffalo; Com- 
pany H, in Elmira; Company I, in Newtield ; and Company 
K, in Binghamton. The following were the field and staff 
ofiicers of the regiment at the time of its organization on the 
5th of April, 1864 : Colonel, William M. Gregg ; Lieutenant- 
Colonel, Franklin B. Doty; Major, J. Barnet Sloan; Adju- 
tant, George W. Cook; Quartermaster, Nathaniel P. T. 
Finch; Surgeon, Joseph W. Robinson; Assistant-Surgeon, 
AVilliam C. Bailey; Chaplain, Edwin A. Taft. 

The One Hundred and Seventy-ninth, having been organ- 
ized, w^as sent into the field by companies from the place of 
rendezvous at Elmira. Companies A, B, and C w-eut on in 
April, 1864, and arrived in Baltimore on the 29th of that 
month. Companies A and C proceeded via New York City, 
and Company B by the Northern Central Railroad, the 
three companies meeting in Baltimore. From there they 
went to Washington and encamped on Arlington Heights, 
opposite the city. They were here joined about the 1st of 
May by Companies D and E. Lieutenant-Colonel Franklin 
B. Doty, also at this time reached the camp and assumed 
command. From Arlington, about the last of Ma}', they 
proceeded to AVhite House Landing on the Pamuuky River, 
Va. 

Company F, with Major J. Barnet Sloan, left Elmira on 



106 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

the 1st of Juue, and joined the regiment id Wliite House 
Landing. The One Hundred and Seventy-ninth remained 
here until June 10th, when it united with the Army of Poto- 
mac at Cold Harbor, while the battle of that name was going 
on. The regiment was attached to the First Brigade, Colo- 
nel Pierce, of the First Division, General Ledlie, of the 
Nine Corps, commanded by General Burnside. The posi- 
tion in front of Cold Harbor was evacuated as the arm}' 
moved down the Peninsula, the One Hundred and Seventy- 
ninth Regiment being the last to leave the skirmish line. 
The James River was crossed at Wilson's Landing, and a 
forced march was made to the front of Petersburg, where 
the regiment arrived on the 16th. The Ninth Corps the 
same evening supported the Second Corps as it advanced 
on the Confederate position. At 6 o'clock in the afternoon 
of the following day the Ninth Corps assailed the enemy's 
works. In this assault the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth 
lost half its number in killed, wounded, and missing.* 
Major J. Barnet Sloan, of Yates County, while bravely lead- 
ing his regiment in the charge, received a mortal wound. 
Captain Daniel Blatchford, of Company E, was also killed, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Franklin B. Doty, Captains Robert T. 
Stewart, of Company B, and William Bird, Jr., of Company 
D, were wounded. Captain John Barton, of Company C, 
was promoted to be Major, July 14th, in place of Major 
Sloan, who died of his wound on the 18tli of June. 

It will be proper to here give some account of the young 
and gallant officer last named, who fell while in the service 
of his country. John Barnet Sloan was born in Penn Yan, 
January 17, 1839.t In 1861, while a resident of New York 
City, he enlisted for two years in the Thirty-first Regiment, 
N. Y. v., with the rank of First Lieutenant. When the 

*As the regiment was going into the fight Corporal John H. Carley, of 
Company F, was mortally wounded by a shell. He was buried on the 
battle-field, and funeral services were observed for him in Penn Yan. 

tHc was married, September 24, i860, to Miss Mary A. Bradley, a sister 
of Lieutenant David A. Bradley, of Company F, of the One Hundred and 
Seventy-ninth Regiment. Their children are Mary Barnet, the wife of 
Frank E. Wright, of Lewiston, Fergus County, Mont., and Martha E.» 
wife of the Hon. John D. Waite, of Utica, Fergus County, Mont. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 107 

Thiity-tirst was ordered from au island in the harbor of New 
York to proceed to Washinj^ton, some violent characters 
connected with the regiment refused to go, and it was only 
by the energy of Lieutenant Sloan and considerable coercion 
that a mutiny was prevented when they were passing 
through the city of New York. By this simple occurrence 
Avas awakened in the minds of these desperadoes the most 
deadly hatred and revenge. Soon after their arrival in 
Washington one of them made a furions assault on the Lieu- 
tenant. He defended himself and thrust his sword through 
the body of the ruffian, who died instantly. The companions 
of the soldier thns justly killed were more than ever in- 
censed, and two or three days later another of the insur- 
gents rushed, with musket and bayonet, at Lieutenant Sloan, 
who, drawing a revolver, shot him dead. The Lieutenant 
immediately surrendered himself, and asked for an investi- 
gation. A court-martial was appointed, which, after a pa- 
tient hearing of three days, accpiitted him from all blame. 
General McClellan, to whom the verdict of the court had 
been submitted for approval, asked "to see the young lieu- 
tenant who had been tried." When Lieutenant Sloan pre- 
sented himself General McClellan remarked, "Lieutenant, 
you are acquitted ; you were born to be a soldier. I see 
that you have but one bar upon your shoulder; you are 
worthy to wear two." The Lieutenant shortly afterwards 
received, by order of the General, a Captain's commission. 
His comrades in the company in which he first enlisted, on 
learning that he was about to be assigned to the command of 
another company, petitioned that he might remain, and he 
became their Captain. Shortly after the siege of Yorktown 
Captain Sloan's company, with others, was sent out to re- 
connoitre, and became eutirel}' surrounded by the enemy. 
After making a detour of about ten miles, and being all this 
while in the most imminent danger, Captain Sloan, with a 
number of his men, succeeded in reaching the Federal lines, 
but while approaching they were mistaken for Confederates, 
and a shell, which, fortunately, failed to explode, fell in their 
midst. At the battle of Gaines' Mill, Captain Sloan engaged 
in single combat with a Confederate cavalryman, whom he 



108 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

shot through the head, but not uutil the trooper had se- 
verely wounded him in the foot. Although wounded he 
fought to the close of the day's conflict, and during the next 
two days in the battles of Savage Station and of Fair Oaks. 
His foot had now become swollen to such an extent that he 
could not walk. Our forces were in full retreat, and Captain 
Sloan was following after on one foot, as best he could, sup- 
portiug himself by a stout stick cut from the White Oak 
swamp. The Confederates were in plain view, and he would 
have been taken prisoner had not the Lieutenant-Colonel 
noticed the peril he vv^as in, and sent him his own horse, with 
directions to mount and repair to the hospital. Here Cap- 
tain Sloan's wound first received medical attention. He was 
then furloughed, and, coming North, was appointed a recruit- 
ing officer, and for several months acted in that capacity. 
He afterward returned to his regiment, and was at the 
storming of the heights of Fredericksburg, where he was 
again wounded, this time by a minie ball in the leg. The 
Thirty-first Regiment was mustered out in May, 1863, and 
Captain Sloan, for meritorious service on the field of battle, 
received a commission as Major, bearing date and back pay 
from the previous month of January. Major Sloan, having 
rcenlisted, left Elmira on June 1, 1864, with Company F, of 
his regiment, the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth. After 
his departure for the front a large number of the prominent 
citizens of Yates County, wishing to express their high ap- 
preciation of Major Sloan's military and soldierly qualities, 
assembled on June 4th in front of the Benham House, in 
Penn Yan, to witness the presentation of an elegant sword, 
pistols, and belt, which had been contributed by them as a 
testimonial of the esteem and respect which they held to- 
wards the young and brave Major. Hon. Darius A. Ogden 
made the presentation speech, and, in behalf of Major Sloan, 
who was then absent on the field of duty, John D. Wolcott, 
Esq., the District Attorney of Yates County, responded and 
passed the beautiful implements of war into the hands of 
John Sloan, Esq., who was to forward them to his son. 
The following is the inscription on the sword : 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 109 

Presented to Major John Barnet Sloan, Jnne 4, 1864, as a testimonial of 
their appreciation of services rendered in defence of onr imperiled coun- 
try, and his energy in raising the 179th Reg't-, N. Y. S. V., by 

Hon. D. A. Ogden, Col. H. C. Robbins, S. C. Cleveland, 
Wm. Watts, F. Holmes, C. Hewins, 

J. S. JiLLETT, N. R. Long, L- O. Dunning, 

Wm. T. Remer, Geo. H. Lapham, F. E. Smith, 

And Others. 

Gen. A. F. WhiTaker, 
Chairman. 

Major Sloan received the published accounts of this meet- 
ing, but before he received the beautiful and appropriate 
gifts themselves he fell in battle, June 17th, as before stated. 
His remains were brought to Penn Yan, and there interred 
with due honors, the Rev. Frederick Starr, Jr., pastor of the 
First Presbyterian Church, preaching the funeral discourse. * 
Post No. 93 of the Grand Army of the Republic at Penn 
Yan was named in honor of Major Sloan on its organization 
in 1869. 

Company G joined the command July 29, 1864. The ex- 
plosion of the mine under a portion of the Confederate en- 
trenchments occurred the next morning. An assault was 
then made by the Ninth Corps, with the First Division tak- 
ing the lead, and the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth lost in 
killed: Major Barton, Captain Allen T. Farwell of Company 
F, Captain James H. Day of Company G, and in wounded, 

*The funeral of Major Sloan was held on the 27th inst. in the First 
Presbyterian Church, and was conducted by the following gentlemen, 
who constituted the committee of arrangements and also acted as pall- 
bearers: George R. Cornwell, Samuel Stewart Ellsworth, Henry C. 
Hermans, George N. Hicks, Farley Holmes, George H. Lapham, James 
D. Morgan, Jr., George F. Morgan, Ovid M. Reddy, Foster S. Roberts, 
John Shearman, Alexander F. Slaughter, Warren J. Stanton, and Theo- 
dore F. Wheeler. The funeral procession was arranged in fine order, and 
led by marshals mounted (Captain E. E. Root, Chief Marshal ; Captains 
C. F. Rudgers and M. H. Lawrence, Jr., Aids.) The Penn Yan Cornet 
Band came next, playing mournful airs, and in charge of Frederick Poy- 
neer. The hearse, containing the body, was gracefully shrouded with the 
American flag, and Vas drawn by four elegant white horses, closely fol- 
lowed by the war-horse of the deceased, fully caparisoned, and led by a 
groom on foot. The military and fire companies, with their regalia, 
added much to the occasion. The bells had hardly ceased tolling, when 
intelligence came to Penn Yan of the fall of another brave oflScer, Captain 
Morris Brown, Jr., of the 126th Regiment, 



110 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Lieutenant B. L. Sexton, of Company D. Fifty enlisted 
men belonging to the regiment were killed, wonuded, and 
taken prisoners. The One Hundred and Seventy-ninth did 
constant fighting in the trenches until the 19tli of August. 
During the Avhole time the men were exposed to the most 
hair-breadth escapes and harrassing dangers, but the regi- 
ment escaped with only a few wounded. On the above date 
it moved around to the Weldon Railroad, which had been 
taken by the Fifth Corps, and which would have been lost 
again, had it not been for the timely support of the Ninth 
Corps. The two corps, now united, attacked the Confeder- 
ates, and forced them to retreat a considerable distance. 
In this advance the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regi- 
ment had only three officers and fifty-six men fit for duty, 
so greatly had both officers and men been exhausted by their 
duties in the trenches. The loss in the above engagement 
was small. On August 27th Albert A. Terrill, Captain of 
Company A, was made Major in place of Major Barton, 
killed. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Doty, who had been wounded and ab- 
sent in consequence for sixty days, rejoined his command 
August 23d. Companies H, I, and K reached the regiment 
at Park's Station in September. On the 30th of that month 
the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth took part in the en- 
gagement at Poplar Springs Church, in which Lieutenant 
James Booker, of Company K, was mortally wounded. The 
next engagement, in which the losses were very slight, oc- 
curred October 27th at Hatcher's Run. After this the regi- 
ment was generally in the trenches until April, 1865, occa- 
sionally changing from Fort Welch to Fort Davis. The 
One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment, having now 
reached its maximum number, Colonel William M. Gregg, 
about the 1st of October, 1864, was mustered in and took 
command. 

During the first part of December, at the time of the cele- 
brated raid of the Fifth Corps to the Nottoway River, the 
Second Division, to which the regiment was attached, was 
sent out in pursuit, and to give support, if required. It per- 
formed a forced march of twenty miles and back within 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. Ill 

twenty-four hours. On the night of April 1, 1865, the One 
Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment alone, by a splendid 
flank movement, assailed the whole picket line on its brigade 
front, capturing about four times its number, with only 
slight losses, and held its position until morning. It then 
took position on the front line for a general assault on the 
enemy's works, which were subsequently taken with an 
overwhelming victory that completely broke up the Confed- 
erate line of fortifications. Colonel Gregg, in this assault, 
received a scalp wound from the fragment of a shell, which 
rendered him senseless for some time and disabled him for 
one week from commanding. The lamented Lieutenant- 
Colonel Doty fell, shot through the lungs, and survived only 
two daj's. As an officer, a courteous gentleman, a valiant 
soldier, among the bravest of the brave, he had few equals. 
Captains Albert A. Pierson, of Company D, and Giles H., 
Holden, of Compan}' F, and Lieutenants Samuel G. H. Mus- 
grove, of Company E, and Stephen Compton, of Company 
A, were wounded. Captain Pierson severely, through the 
left leg, and the rest slightly. 

The One Hundred and Seventy-ninth participated in the 
pursuit of Lee as far as Burkesville, and after his surrender 
it returned to City Point, from which place it went by trans- 
port to Alexandria, and near there encamped. It was mus- 
tered out at its place of encampment on June 8, 1865, by 
special order of the War Department. Going by way of 
Washington, the regiment proceeded to Eimira, which it 
reached on Sunday morning, the 11th. It was met at the 
depot by prominent citizens and the committee of arrange- 
ments and escorted to the AVilliam Street Hospital building, 
where a warm breakfast was served to the members of the 
command. After breakfast the veterans marched down to- 
ward the foot of Chiirch Street, and ehcamped on a vacant 
lot on the south side, near the stone-ware factory. Here 
they remained until the 22d and 23d of June, when the}' re- 
ceived final pay and discharge. 

Inscribed on the banners of the One Hundred and Seventy- 
ninth are the names of noted battles in which the regiment 
took a most noble part, namely : " Petersburg, June 17 and 



112 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY, 

July 30, 1864; Weld on Railroad ; Popular Springs Church ; 
Hatcher's Ran; and Petersburg, on April 1 and 2, 1865." 
On account of the great bravery evinced in capturing the 
enemy's picket line, and in the final assault before Peters- 
burg, brevets were afterward conferred on several commis- 
sioned officers of the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth 
among these being Colonel William M. Gregg, who was 
raised to the rank of Brevet Brigadier-General, and Lieuten- 
ant John T. Andrews, 2d, who was raised to the rank of 
Brevet-Captain. 

The following is the roster of the regimental and line offi- 
cers at the time of the mustering-out of the One Hundred 
and Seventy-ninth Regiment: Officers — Colonel, William M. 
Gregg ;t Lieutenant-Colonel, Albert A. Terrill; Major Giles 
H. Holden ;t Adjutant, George W. Cook; Quartermaster, 
Nathaniel P. T. Finch; Surgeon, Joseph W. Robinson; As- 
sistant-Surgeon, Phineas S. Rose; Chaplain, Edwin A. Taft. 

Line Officers. — Company A — Captain, George D. Carpen- 
ter; First Lieutentant, James A. Farr; Second Lieutenant, 
Stephen Compton. Company B — Captain, Martin V. Doty; 
First Lieutenant, Edward Lounsbury. Company C — Cap- 
tain, Levi Force; Second Lieutenant, Thomas C. Smith. 
Company D — Captain, Albert A. Pierson ; First Lieutenant, 
John T. Andrews, 2d; Second Lieutenant, Henry Mapes. 
Company E — Captain, Samuel G. H. Musgrove; First Lieu- 
tenant, Charles Carr; Second Lieutenant, James Prevost. 
Company F — Captain, James Griswold; First Lieutenant, 
David A. Bradley; Second Lieutenant, Charles F. Hager. 
Company G — Captain, Henry J. Messing; Second Lieuten- 
ant, James Lewis. Company H — First Lieutenant, Fitz E. 
Culver; Second Lieutenant, Henry Spreese. Company' I — 
Captain, Edwin C. Bowen; First Lieutenant, Charles Black- 
mar; Second Lieutenant. Oscar' Jennings. Company K — 
Captain, Moses M. VanBenscotten ; First Lieutenant, Rob- 
ert Hooper; Second Lieutenant, William C. Foster. 

Muster-in roll of Company F, of the One Hundred and 
Seventy-ninth Regiment : 

Company F.— Allen T. Farwell,* Captain ; David A. Brad- 

* Killed t Wounded. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 113 

ley, First Lieutenant; Giles H. Holden,t Second Lieuten- 
ant ; AVilliam L. Norton,!" Orderly Sergeant ; John W. 
Durham, t Newton B. Spencer, Edward S. Dunn,t Ser- 
geants ; William B. Larzelere, John H. Carley,* George W. 
Heck, Albert Bennett,t Norton B. Sage, Carmi Loveless, 
Corporals; Privates, James H. Brown,* Eleazer Baldwin, 
Jr., Amos J. Bonney,§ Daniel R. Bacon,t Josiah C. 
Baker,t Charles Baker, John Banks, Orlando V. Crans, 
William T. Clark,t Julius F. Cotton, Francis M. Campfield, 
Festus Demorest, Tuthill Dense, James Decker,! Thomas 
Dannaby, John Day, Karl Frederick, Richard Fitzgerald, 
Daniel Guinea, Abram O. Gray, George W. Green, t An- 
drew Hurd, Samuel B. Hyatt, Martin Hope, John Hall, 
Frederick Harris, James A. James,§ David Kennedy, John 
Kelly, Edwin Knapp, John Kennedy, Lewis R. Little, Wil- 
liam Lounsbury, Charles Lounsbury, James B. Luce, An- 
drcAv McConnell, Michael McCarty, John Martin, John 
McCann, Barnum J. Noiihrup," Ezra M. Northrup, Charles 
C. Owen,t John Oakley, John Post, John Phalen, John Pat- 
terson, John B. Patrick, Ransom O. Remer, Daniel P. Rig- 
by, Charles E. Releyea, George M. Releyea, John Riley, 
Timothy Shaw, Henry C. Schofield, David Shearman, Aaron 
R. Shearman,* William Stephens, Harrison Sprague, Pat- 
rick Stapleton, Wilbert Simmons, Michael Shanahau, James 
Story, Robert Thompson, George Wilson, Robert P. Walker, 
Daniel Weldon, George Williams, Abel Webb, Martin Wil- 
kin, George White,* Frederick F. Windnagle,* George W. 
AVest 



* Killed. tWouuded. t Died. ? Deserted. 



CHAPTER XL 

The One Hundred and Eighty-eighth and One Hundred and Ninety- 
fourth Regiments Infantry — Grand Review at Washington at the end 
of the War. 

THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT. 

THE One Hundred and Eighty-eighth Regiment of In- 
fantry commanded at first by Colonel James R. Cham- 
berlain, was organized at Rochester in the autumn of 1864. 
Company C, of this regiment, recruited principally in Yates 
County, was, on the 7th of October, mustered into the ser- 
vice of the United States for one year. Recruits from this 
county were also in Companies B, D, E, F, G, and H. The 
regiment on the 13th left the place of rendezvous for the 
front and, under command at that time of Major Christopher 
C. Davison, became part of the Second Brigade of the First 
Division of the Fifth Corps, commanded by General Warren. 
The One Hundred and Eighty-eighth rendered valuable 
service during the latter part of General Grant's Virginia 
Campaign. The first engagement in which the regiment 
took part was at Hatcher's Run (Oct. 27, 1864). Itthen accom- 
panied the e;spedition which was sent out to destroy the 
Weldon Railroad. The expedition moved down the railroad 
as far as the Meherrin, the Confederates that were encount- 
ered on the way being driven to Hicksford near the southern 
boundary of Virginia, while the road was effectually de- 
stroyed to that point some twenty miles (Dec. 7tli to 15th). 
Hicksford had been fortified, and was strongly held by the 
enemy, while our troops, having started with but four days' 
rations, were constrained to hasten their return. No consid- 
erable loss was suffered, nor (otherwise than in destroying 
the railroad) inflicted." On the 6tli of February. 1865, the 
One Hundred and Eighty-eighth participated in a second 
engagement at Hatcher's Run, which resulted in the perma- 
nent extension of the Union left to this position. . 

*"The American Conflict," Vol. 2. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 115 

The grand general advance of the army on the enemy's 
works in front of Petersburg began March 26th. On that 
day the regiment distinguished itself in the attack on Fort 
Meigs, and on the 29th in the charge made on the " sawdust 
fort "" on the Lewis farm. The next day Warren's Corps 
was sharply assailed on the Boynton Plank Road, and the 
One Hundred and Eighty-eighth here nobly supported a 
battery against a charge of the Confederates, and on the 
30th aided in completely repulsing the enemy in an engage- 
ment at Gravelly Run. In the mean time Sheridan had 
pushed forward a part of his cavalry to Five Forks, and 
Warren w^as ordered by Grant to the support of Sheridan, 
and to act under his orders. 

The battle of Five Forks, on the 1st and 2d of April, re- 
sulted in a complete and decisive victory which the One 
Hundred and Eighty-eighth Regiment aided grandly in 
achieving. For some unexplained cause, right in the mo- 
ment of victory, while Warren was in the front with his 
shouting troops, Sheridan removed him" from the command 
of the corps and put Griffin in his place.t The entire right 
of the Confederate position was broken up, and the enemy 
driven in full retreat toward Dansville. A vigorous pursuit 
was kept up by the Union Army, and at Deep Creek a con- 
siderable force of infantry was encountered (April 3d), and 
ultimatel}' driven by the Fifth Corps. On the morning 
of the 7th Grant dispatched a note to Lee, asking for the 
surrender of that part of the Confederate States Army known 
as the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee replied by asking 
wdiat terms Grant had to offer on condition of its surrender. 
After some further correspondence the two great command- 
ers met in the dwelling of W. McLean, at Appomattox Court 
House where the arrangements for the surrender of the 
Confederate Army were completed.! 

*The " sawdust fort " was so called from having been erected on the 
site of a sawmill, where a considerable amount of sawdust yet remained. 

f.Headley's History of the Great Rebellion. Vol. 2. 

X It is an interesting circumstance that the articles of surrender were 
drawn up by a Seneca Indian, General Ely S. Parker, who was a lineal 
descendant of Red Jacket. A Yates County Soldier formed one of the 
troop that captured Jeflcrson Davis in Georgia four weeks later. This 
soldier was Captain Henry Albert Totter, of the 4th Michigan Cavalry. 



116 THE MILITAEY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

After the surrender of Lee the One Hundred and Eighty- 
eighth Regiment marched to Washington and was mustered 
out at its place of encampment near that city, July 1st, 1865. 
The field officers of the regiment at the time of the muster- 
out were as follows : Colonel, John E. McMahon ; Lieuten- 
ant Colonel, Isaac Doolittle; Major, Christopher C. Davison ; 
Surgeon, Sprague Paine; First Assistant Surgeon, S. D. 
Spencer; Second Assistant Surgeon, Charles E. Hill; Chap- 
lain, Wayne Spicer; Adjutant, Orville Curtis; Quartermas- 
ter, T>. C. Fletcher ; Hospital Steward, John E. Wilson. 

Muster-in roll of Company C, with Yates County recruits 
in Companies B, D, E, F, G, and H : 

Company B. — Edward F. Jones, First Lieutenant ; Pri- 
vates, Judson C. Albright,! Thomas V. Brown, Evelyn 
Crego, Chcirles Donelly, Wellington Graham, Charles W. 
Heverly, Joseph R. Potter, Clark Reynolds, Serellow 
Travis, Samuel Van Dyke, William Walker. 

Company C. — Harvey G. Denniston, Captain; Dennis W. 
Crowley, First Lieutenant; Joseph H. Wernett, Second 
Lieutenant ; Almond C. Walters, Jesse L. Wheeler, Edward 
F. Porter, John M. Miller, A. Jackson Terry,t Sergeants; 
George H. Waldo, Clark B. Wheeler, Charles F. Grenall, 
George O. Parker, Charles Beeman, Adelbert Genung, 
Ethan A. Gustin, William P. Lane, Corporals; Privates, 
Charles Alexander, George N. Ball,* Byron Brockway, Ed- 
win Brown,t William Burke, Henry R. Bardeen, Rice Bar- 
ker, John S. Bailey, Chauncey Bacon, John M. Bennett, 
Burton Barnes, Thomas Boyiugton,t Amos Cook,* Charles 
D. Campbell, Albert Comstock, Calvin Comstock, David 
Camfield, Johnson Coon,t Aaron J. Denniston, Hiram 
Ellis,t John Everett, Danford Ellsworth,! Theodore D. 
Gillett, Henry C. Green, Seth P. Gustin, Nelson Hunt,t 
Byron Hayes, Hiram Howland, Matthew Kennedy, David 
Kennedy, William S. Kellogg, John C. Lewis, Orrin J. 
Lewis, Charles T. Lewis, William G. Tears,:|: Daniel Lenox, 
Edward P. Lenox, Philip Lawley, John Leftier, Chappel 
Lito,* Smith McLoud, William Mehan,* (promoted to Ser- 
geant-Major, and afterward to Second Lieutenant), Delos 

* Killed, t Wounded. J Died. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 117 

Neff, Eli S. Osborne, t George O. Parker, Theodore Put- 
nam, William G. Price, Timothy Parsons, David J. Par- 
sons, David W. Parker, Michael Scott, Milton Stryker, 
Peter J. Strant,t David Q. Stevens, Ira Smith,t Jacob D. 
Smith, Benjamin Stowe,* Niram B. Squires, Horace Stod- 
dard, Alouzo Sluyter, Ezra Strope, Adam Shill, Civilian 
Travis, Zephaniah Travis, Francis F. Wales, Edmund F. 
Waldo, John J. Watkins, Maurice Wilcox, Chauncey W. 
Wheeler. 

Company D. — Privates, John W. Braymau, Robert B. 
Bray man, William Brown, Samuel C. Kerrick. 

Company E. — Privates, Zenas G. Bullock, Isaac C. Bailey, 
Newton Colegrove, Ebenezer B. Clark, Andrew A. Granger, 
William F. Harkness, Henry Pitt, Charles H. Spencer. 

Company F. — Privates Albert Van Dusen, Norman 
Wyant. 

Company G. — Privates, James Burley, Percival A. Con- 
klin, Cornelius Demorest, Charles S. Dailey, Alexander 
Eastman, William W. French, Mark Hazen, Decatur 
Hedges, William W. Hoyt, William F. Kelsey, Uzal Mar- 
latt, Philip McGinnis, David S. Miller, Philip Packhard, 
Reuben Rockwell, Daniel Rockwell, John H. Simmons, 
James Soles, John T. Smith, Ira M. Smith, Robert Shedden, 
Lather Smith, Joseph Scott, Elijah Scott, John Scott, Ezra 
Tyler, Ozro Thomas Towner, William Wolverton, George 
Wooden, Horace H. Watrous. 

Company H. — John Eckler, private. 

Company K. — Danford Ellsworth, private. 

THE ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-FOURTH REGIMENT, 

Colonel Joseph W. Corning (formerly of the Thirty-third 
New York Volunteers) received authority, Jan. 27, 1805, to 
recruit a regiment of infantry, to be known as the One Hun- 
dred and Ninety-fourth New York Volunteers. In this reg- 
iment Company D, otherwise known as the Ninth Indepen- 
dent Company, was raised in Yates County, and was mus- 
tered at Elmira into the United States service for two years, 
April 16, 18G5. By reason of the cessation of hostilities the 
One Hundred and Ninety-fourth Regiment was not called 

* Killed, t Wounded. jDicd. 



118 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

into active service, and the several companies composiug 
the command were mustered out and honorably discharged 
at Elmira May 8 and 10, 1865. Seven enlisted men belong- 
ing to the regiment died during its stay in that city. 

Muster-in roll of Company D, of the One Hundred and 
Ninety-fourth Regiment : 

llichard B. Maliar, Captain ; Charles Stark, First Lieu- 
tenant; Theodore G. Ross, Second Lieutenant; Delos C. 
Hubbard, Orderly Sergeant; Privates, Henry J. Ackley, 
Henry M. Asliby, George W.Austin, Gforge S. Ackley, James 
A. Briggs, Hugh Bulger, George H. Beamish, Charles Britton, 
John F. Beebe,CoradonH.Beebe, Abram Brown, Eli Barrett, 
John W. Booth, John Baker, Wolcott Cole, Lewis Clark, 
Lester Crandall, Edward Courtney, Edwin L. Corey, Thomas 
Creed, Jerome H. Carey, Edgar D. Carey, George A. Dur- 
ham, Dwiglit W. Dickinson, George Davis, Charles A. 
Darrow, Roderick Dingham, Timothy Driscoll, Leonard E, 
Durfur, Lucas Enos, David H. Fitzwater, Elijah Fowler, 
Patrick Gill, Mordecai Goodwin, Moses R. Gage, William 
A. Gray, Mortimer Hotchkiss, Daniel Houghtailing, Lewis 
Halstead, Jabez F, Hobart, Joseph Ham, Thomas Harlan, 
Thomas Hackett, John Homer, Wilham H. Hand, George 
Hennery, John Hall, James Houghtailing, Henry Jero, 
Lyman P. Johnson, Frank M. Lacy, Josiah B. Lyon, John 
Lenhart, Michael McAlpine, William Mitchell, John H. 
Parsons, Orrin W. Place, Whitfield H. Peck, Wallace Palm- 
ateer, John H. Ryall, John R. Southerby, Joseph Steele, 
James Steele, Albert W. Small, Philip Slater, Richard Sutfin, 
Edward W. Salsbury, Simeon Spink, Thomas Tunney, John 
Theis, Henry Tomyon, Smith Tupper, David O. Tears, 
Charles G. Watkins, Cornelius Webber, John P. Williams, 
Charles Wright, Bertram A. Whitmore, Samuel C. Wales. 

Company B. — George W. Randall, private. 

Company C. — George B. Barden, Corporal. 

Company E. — Samuel C. Moxcey, Corporal; Cornelius 
Plaisted, private. 

THE GRAND REVIEW. 

As a fitting close to this long and terrible struggle which 
the country had passed through, a grand review of the two 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 119 

armies of Grant and Sherman took place in the National 
Ca])ital on the 23d and 2-ltli of May, in the presence of the 
President and his Cabinet and foreign ministers. New York 
has the honor of having furnished more troops for the war 
than any other State, and her sons were well represented in 
this maguiticent parade. Among these were a large number 
from Yates County, who had served in different organizations 
in both armies, and in the former (which should be properly 
called the ever-renowned Army of the Potomac) were 
notably those belonging to the One Hundred and Twenty- 
sixth,* the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth, the One Hun- 
dred and Eighty-eighth, and to other regiments of infantry, 
besides artillery and cavalry. As the bronzed and proud 
veterans marched up Pennsylvania Avenue, the heavens re- 
sounded with the acclamations of the multitude, and the air 
was filled with the bouquets of flowers that were rained on 
the noble leaders. The Duke of Wellington said, when 
50,000 troops were reviewed in the Champs Elysees, after 
the occupation of Paris by the Allies, that it was "a sight 
bat once seen in a life time," but here nearly two hundred 
thousand marched, in an apparently endless stream, past 
the Presidential mansion, not conscripts forced into the 
ranks, but citizens who had voluntarily taken up arms to 
defend not a monarch's rights, but their own. 

Yet, sublime as was this spectacle, it sank into insignifi- 
cance before the grandeur of the one presented a few days 
after, when this army, strong enough to conquer a hemis- 
phere, melted suddenly away into the mass of the people 
and was seen no more. Its deeds of renown had filled the 
civilized world, and European statesmen looked on and 
wondered what disposition could be made of it, and where 
it would choose to go, or what it would do. It was one of 
the grandest armies that ever bore on its bayonet points the 
destinies of a king or a nation — a consolidation and embod- 
iment of power seldom witnessed ; and yet, while the gaze 
of the world was fixed upon it, it disappeared like a vision, 
and when one looked for it he saw only peaceful citizens 

*The 126th Regiment, when it participated in the Grand Review, had 
but 67 men in its ranks. The 50th Engineers were given, as a special 
place of honor, the right of the line. 



120 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

engaged in their usual occupations. The Major-General, 
whose martial achievements had been repeated in almost 
every language under the sun, was seen among his papers 
in his old law office, which he had left at the call of his 
country ; the brave Colonel, who had led many a gallant 
charge, was in his counting house, acting as though he had 
been absent only a few days on business, while the veterans 
of the rank and file, whose battle shout had rung over 
scores of bloody fields, could only be found by name, as one 
bent over his saw and plane, and another swung his 
scythe in the harvest field or plied his humble toil along the 
streets. It was a marvellous sight — the grandest the world 
ever saw. It had been the people's war — the people had 
carried it on, and having finished their own work, quietly 
laid aside the instruments with which they had accom- 
plished it and again took up those of peaceful industry. 
Never did a government on earth exhibit such stability and 
assert its superiority over all other forms as did this repub- 
lican government of ours in the way its armies disappeared 
when the struggle was over.* 

Reuben E. Fenton, Governor of New York, issued a con- 
gratulatory address to the returned veterans of his State on 
the 5th of June. The sentiments therein contained found 
an echo in the heart of every patriotic citizen. The people 
of Yates County, especially, were in unison with Governor 
Fenton in affectionate regard for their kinsmen who had 
" borne the battle," and their real feelings can be best ex- 
pressed in the words of the closing paragraph of the Gover- 
nor's address : " We will treasure your legends, your brave 
exploits, and the glorified memory of your dead comrades in 
records more impressive than the monuments of the past, 
and enduring as the liberties you have secured. The people 
will regard, with jealous pride, your welfare and honor, not 
forgetting the widow, the fatherless, and those who were de- 
pendent upon the fallen hero. The fame and glory you 
have won for the State and Nation shall be transmitted to 
our children as a most precious legacy, lovingly to be 
cherished and reverently to be preserved." 

*Headley's History of the Great Rebellion, Vol. 2. 



CHAPTER XIL 

Citizens of Yates County iu Other Commands — Colored Soldiers — The 
Confederate Service — The United States Navy. 

CITIZENS OF YATES COUNTY IN OTHER COMMANDS. 

IN writiDg the Military History of Yates County thus far, 
meutiou has been made of those of our soldiers who served 
in the various regiments in which this county was to any 
extent represented. There were, however, soldiers in other 
comaiands, who, in a certain sense, belong to our county, 
and whose names might be given.* To give a complete list 
would not be possible, inasmuch as some of these were born 
in Yates County, and enlisted from another county or from 
a distant State, and others now residing within our county's 
borders have become residents since the close of the war. 
The names of certain ones belonging to this class, which 
have come to the knowledge of the writer, are given as fol- 
lows: 

Valentine Allen, private, Co. E, 11th Pa. Cav.; Albert Am- 
idon, private, Co. G, 8th N. Y. Inf.; AVesley P. Andrews, 
Captain, Co. I, 42d 111. Inf.; Charles P. Babcock, Colonel, 
— Mich. Cav.; Sherwood S. Ball, musician, 19th N. Y. V.; 
William Bellis, Sergeant, Co. B, 5th Mich. Inf., and Cap- 

*In connection with this chapter may be mentioned certain persons by 
whom, in a military sense, Yates County has been represented. The 
West Point cadets from our county have been : Walter Stevens, who 
graduated in 1845. He served in after years in the Confederate army and 
in Mexico, and is probably not now living. Henry C. Danes, who grad- 
uated in 1867, and is now stationed at Key West Barracks, Key West, Fla., 
with the rank of Captain in the 3d U. S. Artillery, commanding Battery 
I. Ralph W. Hoyt, who graduated in 1872, and is now stationed at Fort 
Apache, Ariz., with the rank of Captain of Co. F, nth Reg't, U. S. In- 
fantry. John Conklin, Jr., who graduated in 1884, and is now stationed 
at Fort Riley, Kan., with the rank of First Lieutenant in the 2d U. S. 
Artillery. Samuel Stewart Ellsworth, Esq., of Penn Yan, served in 1875 
and 1876 as Quartermaster General of the State of New York on the staff 
of Governor Samuel J. Tilden, from which position he acquired the title 
of General, by which he was commonly known. 



122 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

tain, Co. B, 30tli Mich. Inf.: William J). Benedict, private, 
Co. D, 15tli N. Y. Cav.; David S. Blauvelt, Corporal, Co. E, 
86th N. Y. Inf. (Steuben Rangers); Sweet Brayton, Cor- 
poral, Co. K, 107th N. Y. Inf.; Samuel B. Briggs, farrier, 2d 
Mich. Cav.; Robert P. Bush, Captain, Co. E, 185th N. Y. Inf., 
Major, 185th Inf.; Elhott N. Bush,* Captain, Co. G, 95th 
111. Inf.; Henry M. Bush, Lieutenant, Co. G, 95th 111. Inf.; 
Ira Chubb, private, Co. D, 161st N. Y. Inf.; Edwin E. Cleve- 
land, private, Co. K, 136tli N. Y. Inf.; George C. Coleman,"" 
private, Co. A, 161st N. Y. Inf.; Elliott Cornelius, private, 
Co. M, 4th Pro. Cav.; Andrew J. Criss, private, Co. B, 122d 
N. Y. Inf.; Bradford Cronk, private, Co. H, 86th N. Y. Inf.; 
Charles B. Curtis, Captain, Co. A, 57th N. Y. Inf.; Stephen 
B. Dunton, private, Co. D, 1st Pa. Rifles ; Joseph Eveland, 
private, Co. B, 141st N. Y. Inf.; Benjamin Fullagar, private, 
Co. A, 3d Wis. Cav., and Captain, Co. K, 3d Wis. Cav.; 
Robert H. Graham, Major, 8th Kansas Inf.; George M. Gris- 
wold, private, Co. G, 10th N. Y. Cav.; Charles O. Harring- 
ton, color-bearer, 3th Wis. Inf.; John Q. Heck, Corporal, 
Co. C, 166th Ohio National Guard; Henry Augustus Hicks, 
Lieutenant, 9th Wis. Battery; Foster A. Hixson, paymaster 
(with the rank of Major); Andrew B. Horton, private, Co. C, 
22d Mich. Vols.; William W. Hull, private, Co. D, 120th N. 
Y. v.; William Hunter,* private, Co. G, 10th N. Y. Cav.; 
Daniel B. Hurley, Corporal, Co. A, 141st N. Y. Inf.; Robert 
G. IngersoU, Colonel, 11th 111. Cav.; Edward Kendall, pri- 
vate, Co. H, 107th N. Y. Inf., and Sergeant-Major, 107th N. 
Y. Inf.; Coates Kinney, Paymaster (with the rank of Major); 
William Kreutzer, Colonel, 98th N. Y. Inf.: George Lee, 
Colonel, — Mich. Inf., and Assistant Adjutant-General on 
the staff of General Sheridan ; A. Oliver Lewis,* Sergeant- 
Major, 15th Mich. Inf.; Wilson A. Lewis,t private, Co. B, 
20th Mich. Inf.; Eh Long, Colonel, 4th Ohio Cav., and Brig- 
adier-General U. S. Army (retired list) ; John S. McFarlane, 
Sergeant, Co. C, 144th N. Y. Inf.; Robert McGilliard, pri- 
vate, Co. A, 124tli 111. Vols.; Samuel H. Myers, private, Co. 
A, 19th 111. Inf.; Hezekiah Newland, private, Co. H, 111th 
N. Y. Inf., and private, Co. E, 4th N, Y. Heavy Artillery; 

* Killed, t Died. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 123 

Joliu M. Oliver, Lieuteuant, Co. A, 4th Mich. Inf., (^aptaiu 
Co. A, 4th Mich. luf., Colonel, 15th Midi. Inf., Brigadier- 
General, 3d Brigade, 2d Divison, 15tli Army Corps, Major 
General U. 8. Army; George T. Orr, private, Co. G, 54th N. 
Y. Inf.; Walter L. Orr, private, Co. B, 128th N. Y. Inf.; 
Erastiis N. Owen, Adjutant, 20th Ohio, and Colonel, 5tli U. 
S. Colored Artillery (Heavy) ; Henry Albert Potter, Captain, 
Co. A, 4th Mich. Cav., Brevet-Major, 4th Mich. Cav.; Abel 
Rarick, private, Co. A, 161st N. Y. Inf.; Rila Razey, pri- 
vate, Co. G, 189th N. Y. Inf.; Jere S. Reed, private, Co. C, 
105th N. Y. Inf., and Lieutenant, Co. A, 94th N. Y. Inf.; 
John Sanderson, private, Co. F, 161st N. Y. Inf., and Ser- 
geant-Major, 161st N. Y. Inf.; Reuben A. Scofield, private, 
Co. C, 21st N. Y. Inf., and First Lieutenant, Co. H, 4th 
U. S. Colored Troops, and Brevet Major U. S. Vols.; 
Martin V. Scutt, private, Co. H, 68th N. Y. Inf., and 
private, Co. F, 161st N. Y. Inf.; J. Dorman Steele, Cap- 
tain, Co. K, 81st N. Y. Inf.; George B. Stewart, Sergeant, 
Co. F, 205th Pa. Vols.; Harlan P. Sturdevant, private, Co. 
E, 101st N. Y. Inf., and private, Co. K, 40th N. Y. Inf.; 
George W. Thornton, private, Co. B, 64th N. Y. Inf.; George 
Titus, Lieutenant, Co. K, 5th Conn. Vols.; Leroy Tobey, pri- 
vate, Co. G, 26th N. Y. Inf.; Homer M. Townsend, musician, 
89th N. Y. Inf.; George B. Tyler,* Lieutenant, 3d Mich. 
Battery ; Joseph Le VanBender, Lieutenant, Co. B, 52d Pa. 
Vols., and Lieutenant, Co. D, 168th Pa. Vols.; Jesse R. 
Welch, private, Co. D, 24 Mich. Vols.; Samuel M. Whitbeck, 
private, Co. H, 18th N. Y. Vols., and private, Co. M, 6th N. 
Y. Cav., Sergeant, 2d Pro. Reg't,N. Y. Mounted Rifles; Wil- 
liam H. Whitfield, private, Co. G, 149th N. Y. Inf.; J. Au- 
gustus Winans,t private, Co. A, 18th Wis. Inf.; Erastus B. 
Wolcott, Surgeon-General, State of Wisconsin. 

COLORED SOLDIERS. 

Among the residents of Yates County, who served in the 
war, were the following colored soldiers : 

Company A, 26tli New York Infantry. — Privates, Sidney 
Babcock, Stephen John Beanies, John Butler, William John- 
sou, Amos Riggs, George Steadman, Samuel Steadman. 

* Killed, t Died. 



124 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Henry Hamilton, private, Company E, 54tli Massachusetts 
Infantry; Nelson Jones, private, Company K, 20tli New 
York Infantry; William Maxfield, private, Company I, 6tli 
United States Colored Troops ; Frank Suzey, private, Com- 
pany K, 14tb Rhode Island Infantry; Thomas Jefferson 
Yan Houter, private. Company E, 14th Ehode Island Infan- 
try ; Henry Hale, wagoner. 

THE CONFEDERATE SERVICE. 

Several persons who were born in Yates County, and 
others who became residents since the war, were, either by 
inclination or force of circumstances, in the Confederate 
service. Those of our citizens, who were on the Confederate 
side, were as follows : 

David E. Dewey, (conscripted into the Confederate ser- 
vice, but afterwards served in the Union army.) James A. 
Henderson, (performed railroad service under military 
authority.) Stanley M. Warner Nevins, (taken prisoner at 
Fort Donelson, while serving in the Confederate army.) 
Hopestill R. Phillips, Lieutenant, Company K, Tenth Vir- 
ginia Cavalry, (captured at Gettysburg by the Union forces, 
and held on Johnson's Island till the close of the war.) 
Walter Stevens (educated at West Point, served in the Con- 
federate army through the war, and, after the war, served for 
a time in Mexico on the staff of the Emperor Maximilian.) 
Walter Wolcott, Jr., Lieutenant, Company A, Vicksburg 
Volunteer Southrons, (killed at the battle of Gettysburg, 
July 2, 1863.*) 

THE UNITED STATES NAVY. 

Yates Count}', though remote from the seaboard, was rep- 
resented to some extent in the United States Navy. The 

* Walter Wolcott, Jr., the third son of Dr. Wolcott, was born in Starkey 
in 1827. He was educated at the common schools and at Starkey Semin- 
ary, and was afterwards a book-keeper in Rochester, N. Y., and St. 
L,ouis, Mo., and a merchant at Rodney and at Vicksburg, Miss. At the 
outbreak of the war he enlisted in the rebel army, and held the rank cf 
Lieutenant in the " Vicksburg Volunteer Southrons." In Longstreet's 
terrible charge at Gettysburg he was slain. All accounts describe him as 
a brave man, leading his men with undaunted courage on that bloody 
field. He was remarkable as a mathematical student, and as an accom- 
plished violin player. — Cleveland' s History of Yates County, Vol. 2, 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 125 

following persons, belonging to tins county, served in the 
navy during the late war: Charles Asa Babcock, Lieutenant, 
afterward promoted to Captain and then to Commander of 
the U. S. Ironclad Canonicus; Russell H. Carr, U. S. Steam- 
ship Connecticut; Thomas M. Dunham, U. S. S. North Car- 
olina; Delos C. Hubbard, paymaster steward, U. S. S. 
Savannah; George Madden, marine service; Martin Mann, 
North Atlantic Squadron ; Henry H. Mclntyre, U. S. S. 
Salona, Southern Blockade Squadron ; Albert R. Rice, Sur- 
geon ; D. Clinton Robinson, U. S. Steamship Rhode Island, 
also in the South Atlantic Squadron ; Alvin R. Stone, U. S. 
S. Gertrude, West Gulf Squadron. 

Since the war Yates County has been represented in the 
Navy as follows : Jerome B. House, who entered the Naval 
Academy at Annapolis, Md., in 1864. Graduated in 18G8. 
Promoted to the rank of Ensign in 1869. Promoted to the 
rank of Master in 1870. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant 
in 1873. Died January 9, 1881. George K. Powell, who 
was attached to the U. S. War Steamer Wateree, and was at 
the earthquake at Arica, Peru, in 1868. Frank H. Schofield, 
who entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., in 1886. 
Graduated in 1891. Now attached to the U. S. Man-of-war 
Marblehead, of the White Squadron, 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic in Yates County— J. Barnet 
Sloan Post, No. 93, at Penn Yan — Decoration Day Observances at Penu 
Yan in 1869 and 1870 — Memorial Volume Presentation — William H. 
Long Post, No. 486, at Penn Yan — Edwin and Foster P. Cook Post, 
No. 71, at Dundee — Hays Post, No. 115, at Potter — Scott Post, No. 319, 
at Rushville— The Woman's Relief Corps — The Ladies of the Grand 
Army of the Republic. 

SLOAN POST AT PENN YAN. 

ON the evening of April 22, 1869, Commander G. Fred 
Potter, of Post Baldwin, No. 6, of Elmira, having been 
specially detailed from Headquarters, Grand Army of the Re- 
public, Department of New York, reported for duty at Penn 
Yan, with his assistants. Comrades D. G. Beckwith and W. 
H. Davis, of the same post, and proceeded to organize Post 
No. 93 at this place. The following constituted the charter 
members: Martin S. Hicks, Ab. W. Shearman, Jere S. 
Reed, George Titus, S. Harvey Ackley, Hanford Struble, 
Truman N. Burrill, J. Loren Bobbins, Cassius N. McFarren, 
and Josiah C.Baker. The first officers were as follows: 
Martin S. Hicks, Commander; Ab. W. Shearman, Senior 
Vice Commander; Jere S. Reed, Junior Vice Commander; 
Charles B. Turner, Adjutant; Hanford Struble, Chaplain ; 
S. Harvey Ackley, Quartermaster; Truman N. Burrill, Offi- 
cer of the Day; J. Loren Bobbins, Officer of the Guard. 
At the time of organization. Post No. 93 was named in honor 
of Major J. Barnet Sloan, of the One Hundred and Seveut}^- 
ninth Regiment of New York Volunteers, who was mortally 
wounded in front of Petersburg, June 17, 1864. 

Decoration Day was first observed in Penn Yan on the 
29tli of May of the same year. At three o'clock in the after- 
noon of that day, the people having assembled in the Penn 
Yan Cemetery, a procession was formed at the cemetery 
entrance, and conducted by Major John Cooley, as Marshal, 
and Majors Truman N. Burrill and George W. Waddell and 
Captains George Brennan and Morris F. Sheppard, as As- 
sistants. The procession was formed in the following order : 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 127 

Marshal and Aids. 
Frank J. GifFord's Band of Music. 
The Clergy. 
Soldiers' Committee,* Representing Ten Different Regiments. 
Decorating Committee of Twelve Young Ladies, Preceded by Major Han- 
ford Struble, as President of the Day, and by the Orator and 
Poet of the Occasion. 
Ladies' Committee of Arrangements.f 
Penn Yan Amateur Glee Club. 
Soldiers of the Late War. 
Citizens Generally. 
The procession passed over the grounds, visiting each sol- 
dier's grave, which was decorated with flowers, as the name, 
rank, and regiment of the deceased soldier was announced 
bj the President of the Day. When this memorial service 
was concluded the exercises began by a prayer by the Rev. 
N. Judson Clark, followed by singing by the Amateur Glee 
Club of the "Decoration Hymn." An introductory address 
was then delivered by Major Hanford Struble, after which 
came the regular address by Major Robert P. Bush. A 
Memorial Poem,t which was prepared by the reader for the 



*The Soldiers' Committee on this first Decoration Day ceremony com- 
prised the following veterans: John T. Andrews, 2d, David A. Bradley, 
George Brennan, Truman N. Burrill, Robert P. Bush, John Cooley, Mar- 
tin S. Hicks, H. Augustus Hicks, Charles Kelly, Richard B. Mahar, J. 
Loren Robbins, Morris F. Sheppard, Newton B. Spencer, Hanford Stru- 
ble, George W. Waddel!. 

fThe Ladies' Committee of Arrangements that year were as follows : 
Mrs. Janet Lee Fish, Mrs. Jane O. Lewis, Mrs. Elizabeth A. Long, Mrs. 
Judith Ogden, and Mrs. Caroline M. Stark. 

X The last two verses of the Memorial Poem read on this occasion are 
here re-produced : 

All of our patriotic dead 
, Lie not among these mounds. 

For man}- sleep within the soil 

Of distant battle-grounds. 
In conflicts desperate and hot 

Some comrades fell and died. 
And strangers gave rude burial 

The rebel foe beside. 
Farwku. and Brown, BPXh, WoixoTT, Brach, 

And others sleep to-day 
Where Southward, armed battalions fought. 
In fierce and bloody fray. 

But Memory reaches out to them, 

As unto others here, 
Guarding their fame with solemn trust. 

And holds them ever dear. 



128 THE MILITAKY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

occasion, was then read by Newton B. Spencer. After the 
reading of the poem, the patriotic anthem, "America," sung 
by the Amateur Glee Ckib, and the benediction, pronounced 
by the Rev. David Magie, closed the exercises of the day. 

On the 30th of May of the following year (1870) Decora- 
tion Day was observed more directly under the auspices of 
the Post. The members met at 2 p. m. at the Post Room, 
and marched to the front of Bush's Hall, on Main Street, ' 
where a line of march was formed, under the direction of 
Charles C. Hicks, as Marshal, in the following order : 

Martial Band. 

Choir. 

Delegation of Knights Templar. 

Clergy. 

Speakers and Poet. 

Ladies' Committee of Arrangements. 

Decorative Committee. 

Floral Committee. 

Post Sloan and Soldiers. 

Good Templars. 

Citizens. 

The procession marched to the Penn Yan Cemetery, 

where the graves of the deceased soldiers who were at that 

time interred in this cemetery were decorated by the Floral 

Committee. At each grave a short sketch of the life of the 

soldier there buried was given by the Commander of the 

Post. The names of the soldiers whose graves were then 

decorated were as follows: George E. Brazee, Co. A, 50th 

N. Y. Eng.; Damon Lay, Co. I, 33d N. Y. Inf.; Lyman 

Gray, Co. F, 148th N. Y. Inf.; Augustus F. Murdock, Co. I, 

33d N. Y. Inf.; Willis E. Pierce, Co. I, 148tli N. Y. Inf.; 

John A. Holmes, Co. I, 33d N. Y. Inf.; Stanford J. Bigelow, 

Co. L, 14th N. Y. Heavy Artillery; William T. Clark, Co. B, 

In all our annals glorified 

Illustriously bright, 
Their laurel wreaths shall never fade 

In blank Oblivion's night; 
But while Our Banner's Stars remain 

The symbols of our power, 
The fruitage of their daring deeds 

Will richer grow each hour. 
In future storm or while our peace 

Glows golden as the sun, 
As sacred as "The Heart of Bruce," 

We'll keep what we have won. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 129 

179tb N. Y. Inf.: Lieutenant A. Oliver Lewis, 15th Mich. 
Inf.. Sergeant William Eiker, Co. I, 33d N. Y. Inf.; Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel George C. Lee, United States Army ; Sergeant 
H. M. Dunbar, Co. 1, 148th N. Y. Inf.; William F. Pierce, Co. 
I, 33d N. Y. Inf.; Sergeant Thomas Hunter, Co. L, 14th N. 
Y. Heavy Artillery; J. Henry Olmstead, Co. A, 22d N. Y. 
Cav.; John B. Ingles, Co. G, 85th N. Y. Inf.; Colonel J. 
Smith Brown, 126th N. Y. Inf.; Major J. Barnet Sloan, 
17yth N. Y. Inf.; John Alcooke, the Soldiers' Friend ; Cap- 
tain Samuel Wilson, 39th United States Colored Troops ; 
John Moxcey, Jr., Co. L, 14th N. Y. Heavy Artillery, A 
general decoration was also given in honor of all dead sol- 
diers belonging to the county who are elsewhere buried. 

. After the strewing of the graves with flowers, the other 

ceremonies were proceded with in the following order: 

Formation of Procession in a Square. 

Prayer by the Rev. Thomas B. Hudson. 

Singing by the Choir (Messrs. Henry L. Joy, Richard Bryan, George W. 

Waddell, and Edward H. Hopkins, and Mrs. Elizabeth Tims, Mrs. 

Sabra Hewson, Mrs. Ophelia Shearman, Mrs. Mary A. Robbins, 

Mrs. Julia Burrill, and Miss Franc Bridgman.) 

Address to the Soldiers by Major Hanford Struble. 

Reading of Poem for Decoration Day by the Rev. James E. Latimer. 

Oration by Captain John T. Andrews, 2d. 

Singing of Doxology by the Choir. 

Benediction by the Rev. Thomas B. Hudson. 

At the close of these ceremonies the procession re-formed 
and marched to the Catholic Cemetery, in the east part of 
the village, where the graves of two more fallen heroes were 
decorated as follows : John Tuell, Co. G, 14th N. Y. Heavy 
Artillery; William AVelcher, Co. I, 148th N. Y. Inf. After 
singing by the choir, the procession returned to Main Street 
and disbanded at the place of formation. 

J. Barnet Sloan Post No. 93 has been, from the time of 
organization, one of the strongest orders having an abiding 
place at the county-seat. During its existence the total 
muster-roll has shown 2G5 members, the present number 
being 109. In September, 1892, when the National En- 
campment was held in Washington, the Post attended in a 
body and took part in the grand parade of veterans, which 
passed over the same course taken by the armies of Grant 



130 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

and Sherman in the grand review of 1865. The headquar- 
ters of the Post is in Amity Hall in the Bush-Lown Block, 
where the Post meets on the first and third Wednesdays of 
each month. The present officers are these: Charles H. 
Dunning, Commander; Samuel M. Whitbeck, Senior Vice 
Commander; Joseph C. Foster, Junior Vice Commander; 
Stephen B. Dunton, Adjutant; James Taylor, Surgeon; 
Cassius N. McFarren, Chaplain ; Perry W. Danes, Quarter- 
master; D. Clinton Robinson, Officer of the Day; Peter 
Mead, Officer of the Guard ; Russell H. Carr, Quartermaster 
Sergeant; Benjamin Fullagar, Sergeant-Major; John F. 
Randolph, Delegate ; Edward Kendall, Alternate ; Miss Cas- 
tella N. Hobart, Daughter of the Post. The Council of 
Administration are : Cassius N. McFarren, Benjamin Fulla- 
gar, John F. Randolph, Stephen B. Dunton, and D. Clinton 
Robinson. The Relief Committee are: Charles G. Lewis, 
Joseph C. Foster, and John F. Randolph. Past Command- 
ers of the Post : Martin S. Hicks, 1869, 1870, 1871 ; Cassius 
N. McFarren, 1872, 1873; Jere S. Reed, 1874, 1875; Morris 

F. Sheppard, 1876; D. Chnton Robinson, 1877; Henry M. 
Mingay, 1878, 1884; John F. Randolph, 1879, 1880, 1891; 
James M. Smith, 1881 ; Hanford Struble, 1882, 1883 ; Rich- 
ard H. Andrews, 1885; Perry W. Danes, 1886, 1887, 1888; 
George W. Hobart, 1889, 1890; Benjamin Fullagar, 1892; 
Edward Kendall, 1893; Philo H. Conklin, 1894. 

MEMORIAL VOLUME PRESENTATION. 

On Wednesday evening, December 28, 1892, a grand 
camp-fire was held in Amity Hall by J. Barnet Sloan Post, 

G. A. R., of Penn Yan. An interesting feature of the occa- 
sion was the presentation of an elegant record-book — the 
gift of George H. Lapham, Esq. In attendance at the camp- 
fire was a large and appreciative crowd, comprising many 
invited guests, as well as the regular members of the Post. 
At 8 o'clock Commander Benjamin Fullagar called the as- 
semblage to order, and the proceedings began by vocal 
music, finely rendered by the quartette, consisting of Mr. 
Elmer St. John, Mr. Oliver Ketchum, Mrs. Elizabeth Tims, 
and Mrs. Mary L. Raymond, with Mrs. Helen Bruce as or- 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 181 

ganist. Mr. Lapbam being unavoidably absent, Hon. Han- 
ford Struble, Past Commander, was introduced and pre- 
sented to Commander FuUagar the memorial volume, mak- 
ing at the same time the following remarks : 

Mr. Commander, Comrades, Ladies, and Gentlemen : — I hardly know 
what to say to you, or, indeed, how to properly begin niy remarks in 
thus being given the honor of presenting to the members of the Post this 
magnificent volume, in which can be entered a record of their glorious 
achievements in camp and field. I cannot, even in my brief speech, ex- 
press my own deep appreciation of the gift, which we, as a Post, have 
received. I had expected that the giver would be present to-night, and 
that the honor of responding would perhaps be mine. On your faces, com- 
rades, I might say I have looked a hundred times, and, as a record relat- 
ing to my own friends and acquaintances, I can, with you, regard that 
which this book will contain as one of especial importance and value. 
The time is neariug when, if we .make a record, it must be done soon. 
When we went to battle we were young, buoyant, and full of hope ; now 
we are nearing the decline of life. To-night it is my pleasure to present 
to you the gift, the royal gift, of a citizen of this town. There is no sol- 
dier who fought with honor in the last great conflict but made a glorious 
history for himself — one worthy to be recorded. We read the history of 
former wars, of the conquests made by Alexander and by Napoleon, but 
what lasting good resulted? The Great Civil War was a means of lifting 
mankind to a higher grade. Supreme in our might as a nation, we can 
now defy a world in arms. 

I remember once hearing that one night, after a great battle in the late 
war, as the weary soldiers lay on the ground, a young soldier, whose 
head was pillowed on his knapsack, began singing, "Home, Sweet 
Home." One voice after another took up the strain, until hundreds 
were singing it. The thoughts of home at such a time, what emotions 
did they bring up? And when, after many years have passed awaj^ and 
we have all gone to our final home, future generations may read with 
pride the record here given of the part we took in the greatest, the 
noblest, and the grandest conflict ever placed in the annals of history. 

Commander Fullagar, in responding, said that these gray- 
headed veterans little imagined when, in the time of early 
manhood, they went to battle, that they would ever receive 
as a gift, from one of the citizens of Penn Yan, so grand a 
book, in which to record their deeds performed on the battle- 
field. And in behalf of and for these men, he accepted this 
gift, assuring the giver that it will be ever treasured as a 
priceless heirloom and an invaluable adjunct to the Post, 
rendered more valuable, if possible, from the fact that it was 
entirely unexpected, unasked for, unsought. That the pre- 
sentation of it to the Post is the spontaneous act of a patri- 



132 THE MILITAEY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

otic citizen, solicitous that the names of the defenders of 
our common country should not go down into oblivion. 
Had the names and deeds of the Revolutionary fathers been 
thus recorded, what a priceless treasure such a record would 
be to their descendants. But, thanks to the donor of this 
volume, the services of each comrade in this Post can be fit- 
tingly recorded. Nor is this mark of esteem and thoughtful- 
ness unworthily bestowed. For he could say (and not hav- 
ing enlisted from Yates County, but from another and a dis- 
tant State, he was glad he could say it without the charge of 
egotism) that from no county, in any State, in all this broad 
kind, went forth better or braver men — men who did their 
whole duty in a nobler manner, in camp, on the wearisome 
march, or on the battle-field — than did the soldier boys of 
Yates County. 

The address of presentation and the one in response were 
each greeted with loud applause. Comrade Edward Ken- 
dall (lately elected Commander) then read an interesting 
description of army life, according to his experience. A 
narrative, vivid and affecting, was also read by Comrade 
Frank Danes, giving an account of his captivity during eight 
months at Andersonville and in other war-prisons in the 
South. 

Past Commander George W. Hobart arose and said that 
the elegant record-book received was a token that would be 
highly valued, both by the members of the Post and all 
patriotic citizens, and he therefore moved that a unanimous 
vote of thanks be given to George H. Lapham, Esq., and 
that the same be entered upon record. The motion was 
carried amid applause. 

The story of the sinking of the "Monitor" off Cape Hat- 
teras in 1862 was told in an interesting manner by Comrade 
D. C. Robinson, who, at that time, was serving on board the 
"Rhode Island," which, on the voyage from Fortress Mon- 
roe, had the noted ironclad in tow. In responding to calls, 
brief and appropriate speeches were made by John H. But- 
ler, Esq., Reading B. Lefferts, Hon. George R. Cornwell, 
Hon. William S. Briggs, and Benjamin L. Hoyt, Esq. The 
quartette (with all present joining in the chorus) then sang 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 133 

the National airs, "Marching Though Georgia," and "The 
Bed, White, and Blue." 

The exercises were closed by a collation, one of the finest 
of its kind, and ample justice was done to the rations of pork 
and beans, sandwiches, fried cakes, and coffee, the last 
being served in tin cups, in regular army style. 

The memorial volume presented at the camp-fire is of 
large size, gilt-edged, and handsomely bound. It measures 
seventeen inches in length by twelve in breath, and is three 
inches in thickness. The pages are 388 in number, and on 
each is printed a beautiful pictorial design. Besides the 
pages which are intended for the personal sketches of the 
individual soldiers, the volume contains other departments, 
in which can be written the record of acceptance and a his- 
tory of the Post. On the cover, surrounded by illustrations 
of implements of war, are the following words in letters of 
gold: "Grand Army of the Bepublic. Personal War 
Sketches. Presented to J. Barnet Sloan Post, No. 93, Penn 
Yan, Department of New York, by George H. Lapham, 1892." 

LONG POST AT PENN YAN. 

William H. Long Post, No. 486, G. A. R., was granted a 
charter August 18, 1895. The charter members were as fol- 
lows: George Beebe, Martin L. Ballard, William H. An- 
derson, Patrick Manley, David S. Blauvelt, Charles G. Lewis, 
William H. Whitfield, George Burch, George P. Harrison, 
William H. Marshall, Erastus N. Owen, Thomas Fee, David 
Finger, Bennett Bogardus, Samuel H. Myers, Bradford 
Cronk, AVilliam B. Larzelere, George C. Smith, Joseph Le 
VanBender, John F. Brown, Philo H. Conklin, Joseph S. 
Thayer, John H. Cornic, Joseph Worden, William C. Lloyd, 
Frank Danes, Robert N. Coons, John Rector, David D. Tay- 
lor, Edwin E. Cleveland, Melville R. Perry, George S. Wells, 
Thomas Jefierson VanHouter, Charles G. Bassett. The 
first and present ofiicers of the Post are Philo H. Conklin, 
Commander; George Beebe, Senior Vice Commander; 
Robert N. Coons, Junior Vice Commander; Joseph Le Van 
Bender, Surgeon ; Charles G. Lewis, Chaplain ; William H. 
Whitfield, Quartermaster; Joseph S. Thayer, Oflicer of the 
Day; Samuel H. Myers, Officer of the Guard; Frank Danes, 



134 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Delegate; Erastus N. Owen, Alternate. Council of Admin- 
istration — Charles L. Nichols, William B. Larzalere, David 
D. Taylor, Patrick Mauley, Keuben A. Scofield. Belief 
Committee — Theodore G. Ross, Edwin E. Cleveland, David 
S. Blauvelt. The above officers were publicly installed at 
Cornwell's Opera House on Tuesday evening, August 27, 
1895. There was a large attendance, testing the fullest ca- 
pacity of the hall, and the occasion was one of rare interest 
and enjoyment. Major Joseph P. Cleary, of Rochester, 
Past State Department Commander, acted as installing offi- 
cer. The evening exercises included music by the Penn 
Yan Band, and a fine solo by Mrs. Harriet Reed, with Mrs. 
Asenath Bellis as accompanist. After the installation cere- 
monies, refreshments were served, provided by the Woman's 
Relief Corps. Then followed short and stirring speeches by 
Major and Mrs. Cleary, Hon. Hanford Struble, and Mrs. 
Elizabeth Smith, Department Treasurer of the Woman's 
Relief Corps of the State of New York. By a unanimous 
vote of the new Post the Woman's Relief Corps, No. 102, 
was made an auxiliary, with the title of William H. Long 
Woman's Relief Corps, No. 102. 

The meetings of the Post are held on the first and third 
Tuesdays of each mouth at A. O. U. W. Hall. The present 
membership is 83. The Post was named in honor of the 
late Colonel William H. Long,* a biographical sketch of 
whom is here given. 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF COLONEL AV. H. LONG, 

William Hale Long was born in New York City, February 
22, 1835. At the age of fifteen he went to sea, remaining 
three years in that service. On his return he engaged in the 
hardware business with his father, Nathaniel R. Long, finally 
settling in Penn Yan. 

At the breaking out of the war he became Second Lieu- 

*In grateful acknowledgement of this honorable remembrance a beau- 
tiful silk flag of regulation size, 6x6>< feet, was presented to this Post by 
the widow and daughter of Colonel Long ; also the coat, vest, hat, sash, 
and spurs worn by the Colonel at the time of his muster-out, together 
with two order books. These appropriate gifts were received October 23, 
1895. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OP YATES COUNTY. 135 

tenaut of Company I, Thirty-third New York Infantry, his 
commission dating May 14, 1861. He was promoted to 
First Lieutenant on the '27th of December following. He 
was discharged on the 16th of October, 1862, to accept his 
promotion as Captain and Assistant Adjutant General of 
Volunteers. 

For brave and gallant conduct at Fort Stevens, near 
Washington, D. C, he was (September 6, 1864,) promoted 
to Major. This was during one of the Confederate General 
Early's periodical raids, and President Lincoln, who was a 
spectator of the fierce repulse given the enemy, and of the 
bravery displayed on this occasion by Captain Long, per- 
sonally bestowed upon the latter the commission, which was 
cherished ever after as a souvenir of inestimable value. 
Had he (as he said) been made a General by the usual 
methods, he could not have felt as proud as he did of the 
honor which was conferred by the head of the Nation. 

On the 19th of October, 1864, he was made a Brevet Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel for brave and meritorious service during the 
campaign before Richmond and in the Shenandoah Valley. 
For bravery in the assault before Petersburg he received a 
promotion as Brevet-Colonel, April 2, 1865. On the 19th of 
September of the latter year he was mustered out, after a 
military career that was creditable alike to himself and to 
the republic, whose honor he upheld on many a hard-fought 
field. 

During his term of service he was Provost-Marshal under 
General Brooks; aid-de-camp to General Davidson; as- 
signed to duty under General Vinton, of the Third Brigade, 
Sixth Corps, Army of the Potomac. When General Neill 
took command of that brigade, Colonel Long became his 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 

Shortly after the close of the war Colonel Long came to 
Boston, Mass., and entered the employ of Jordan, Marsh & 
Co., a wholesale and retail firm then located on Winthrop 
Square in that city. Ho was married in 1870 to Miss Carrie 
Mason, of Bangor, Maine, and a daughter named Winifred 
was born to them. 

Colonel Long became a first-class member of the Massa- 



136 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

chusetts Commandery of the Loyal Legion April 5, 1876. 
He remained in the employ of Jordan, Marsh & Co. until 
the time of his decease, which occurred April 7, 1890, at his 
home at Chelsea, near Boston. 

COOK POST AT DUNDEE. 

Edwin and Foster P. Cook Post, No. 71, G. A. R., was 
organized at Dundee September 18, 1878. The charter 
members were John H. Knapp, LeGrand Terry, Daniel 
Cook, Darius Glover, Levi R. Bassett, Elias B. Green, James 
E. Almy, Isaac Verian, Martin V. Wilkins, George W. 
Dense, Isaac F. Lockwood, and Henry C. Schofield. The 
first officers were John H. Knapp, Commander; LeGrand 
Terry, Senior Vice Commander; Daniel Cook, Junior Vice 
Commander; Darius Glover, Quartermaster; Levi R. Bas- 
sett, Officer of the Day; James E. Almy, Officer of the 
Guard; George W. Dense, Adjutant; Elias B. Green, Quar- 
termaster Sergeant ; Isaac Verian, Sergeant. 

The present officers of Cook Post are as follows: Henry 
C. Schofield, Commander; Martin Schultz, Senior Vice 
Commander; Alonzo Harris, Junior Vice Commander; 
Daniel Cook, Officer of the Day ; Richard Welch, Officer of 
the Guard; Darius Glover, Quartermaster; T. A. Baker, 
Chaplain; Garry Kishpaugh, Adjutant. The Post meets in 
G. A. R. Hall, Dundee, on the first and third Wednesdays 
of each mouth. From the time of organization the total 
number of members has been 94, the present membership 
being 31. Past Commanders : John H. Knapp, 1878, 1879, 
1880, 1881, 1882, 1884, 1885 ; Hazard Wheeler, 1883 ; EHas 
B. Green, 1886; James E. Almy, 1887; George W. Deuse, 
1888, 1889; Henry Smith, 1890; Alonzo Harris, 1891; Eli- 
sha Bowlsby, 1892, 1893, 1894. 

HAYS POST AT POTTER. 

Hays Post, No. 115, Department of New York, G. A. R., 
was organized on the first day of October, 1879, at Middle- 
sex. The charter members were William H. Fountain, Ben- 
jamin Miles, Amos Francisco, Alexander A. Moshier, Daniel 
Smith, Samuel Salisbury, Andrew Magill, William Burgess, 
Henry Pierce, and George Hainer. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 137 

Hays Post was named in honor of General Alexander 
Hays, who was killed at the battle of the Wilderness, May 
7, 1864:. The first officers were : Alexander A. Moshier, 
Commander; William Adams, Senior Vice Commander; 
Orrin S. Reddoiit, Junior Vice Commander; Myron F. Haw- 
ley, Adjutant; Samuel Salisbury, Surgeon; Robert B. Tozer, 
Chaplain ; William Burgess, Officer of the Day ; Daniel 
Smith, Officer of the Guard; Andrew Magill, Quartermaster; 
Henry Pierce, Quartermaster-Sergeant; George Hainer, 
Sergeant-Maj or. 

In 1889 Hays Post was moved from Middlesex to Potter, 
by consent of the Department Commander, Harrison Clark. 
From the time of organization the membership roll has 
shown the names of seventy-six comrades. At present the 
number in good standing is twenty-three. The Post meets 
in Durham's Hall. 

The present officers are John H. Benedict, Commander ; 
William D. Benedict, Senior Vice Commander; Charles Bo- 
gart, Junior Vice Commander; John W. Durham, Quarter- 
master; Sweet Brayton, Adjutant; Abel Briggs, Chaplain ; 
Henry Wolven, Surgeon; John J. Couley, Officer of the 
Day; Andrew J. Criss, Officer of the Guard; John Brando, 
Quartermaster-Sergeant; John W. Durham, Delegate; Wil- 
liam D. Benedict, Alternate. 

Past Commanders: Alexander A. Moshier, 1879, 1880, 
1881,1882; William Burgess, 1883, 1884, 1886 ; Myron F. 
Hawley, 1885 ; George Hainer, 1887 : Andrew J. Criss, 1888 ; 
Sweet Brayton, 1889, 1890; John W. Durham, 1891; Jabez 
F. Hobart, 1892 ; Charles Bogart, 1893, 1891. 

SCOTT POST AT RUSHVILLE. 

Scott Post, No. 319, G. A. R., of Rushville, was organized 
November 29, 1882, and was named in honor of Edwin A. 
Scott, a member of the Eighth New York Volunteer Cavalry. 

The charter members were D. J. Harkness, M. L. Taylor, 
Charles P. Stearns, William N. Reddout, William S. Huie, 
John Hogan, N. H. Green, Fred Ebert, Frank C. Fair- 
child, C. W. Stark, Albert Wheeler, Frank B. Gage, George 
R. Hunter, Richmond Taylor, J. P. Kelley. 

The first officers were D. J. Harkness, Commander; M. L. 



138 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Taylor, Senior Vice Coinmandei'; Charles P. Stearns, Junior 
Vice Commander ; Charles W. Stark, Quartermaster ; Wil- 
liam S. Huie, Adjutant; William N. Reddout, Officer of the 
Day; George B. Parshall, Chaplain. 

The present officers are William S. Huie, Commander ; 
J. P. Kelley, Senior Vice Commander; Joseph Stephens, 
Junior Vice Commander; Philip Walther, Quartermaster; 
George B. Parshall, Chaplain ; John Hogan, Officer of the 
Day; Charles Sterling, Officer of the Guard; R. Brown, 
Adjutant. 

The Past Commanders have been : D. J. Harkness, Wil- 
liam N. Reddout, Charles W. Stark, Lyman Culver, Russell 
Brown. 

The Post meets on the first and third Tuesday evenings 
in each month. The number of members have been, since 
organization, thirty-two. The present number is twenty- 
four. 

THE woman's relief CORPS. 

The Woman's Relief Corps, No. 102, of Penn Yan, was 
organized June 28, 1887, as an auxiliary to J. Baruet Sloan 
Post, No. 93, G. A. R. The charter members were : Mrs. 
Villa R. Andrews, Mrs. Ann J. Danes, Mrs. Eleanor B. Ful- 
lagar, Mrs. S. Adelaide Hobart, Mrs. S. Runettie Randolph, 
Mrs. Kate Russell, Mrs. Jennie B. Sample, Mrs. Mary A. 
Sloan, Miss Minnie B. Sloan, Mrs. Sarah E. B. Smith, Mrs. 
Laura B. Struble, Mrs. Harriett C. Worden. The organiza- 
tion of the association took place in the rooms of Post 
Sloan, and the following officers were installed in the pres- 
ence of the Post by Mrs. Sarah C. Nichols, of Auburn, the 
Department Senior Vice-President. Mrs. Jennie B. Sam- 
ple, President; Mrs. S. Runettie Randolph, Senior Vice 
President ; Mrs. S. Adelaide Hobart, Junior Vice-President ; 
Miss Minnie B. Sloan, Secretary ; Mrs. Kate Russell, Treas- 
urer ; Mrs. Sarah E. B. Smith, Chaplain ; Mrs. Mary A. 
Sloan, Conductor; Mrs. Eleanor B. Fullagar, Guard; Mrs. 
Villa R. Andrews, Assistant Conductor ; Mrs. Ann J. Danes, 
Assistant Guard. 

After the installation ceremonies, the ladies belonging to 
the Corps were agreeably surprised by the members of the 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 139 

Post, who served them with ice cream, cake, etc. The new 
association was pleasantly welcomed by Chaplain Hanford 
Struble, in behalf of the Post. Remarks were also made by 
Senior Vice Commander George W. Hobart. The exercises 
closed with an interesting speech by Adjutant John F. llan- 
dolph. 

Since its organization the Corps has carried on a steady 
and systematic benevolence in rehef work among the veteran 
poor and their families. To this class provisions, clothing, 
fuel, etc., have, at times, been largely supplied. Homes 
have also been found for destitute children, and employment 
has been secured for the deserving. The members are en- 
titled to praise for their persistence in the faithful work for 
which they are organized. On August 27, 1895, the Wo- 
man's Relief Corps, No. 102, was transferred from J. Barnet 
Sloan Post, No. 93, G. A. R., to William H. Long Post No. 
486 G. A. R., and, by invitation, became an auxiliary to the 
latter Post. 

The present officers of the Woman's Relief Corps are: 
Mrs. Emma C. VanBender, President; Mrs. Sarah E. B. 
Smith, Senior Vice-President; Mrs. Annetta Eastman, Jun- 
ior Vice-President ; Mrs. Carrie M. Baker, Secretary ; Mrs. 
Etta Havens, Treasurer; Mrs. Harriet A. Gardner, Chap- 
lain,* Mrs. Sophia Seligman, Conductor; Mrs. Minnie 
Wood, Guard ; Mrs. Elizabeth Sliutts, Assistant Conductor ; 
Mrs. Kate Russell, Assistant Guard. 

The Presidents from the time the association was organ- 
ized have been as follows: Mrs. Jennie B. Sample, 1887, 
1888; Mrs. Sarah E. B. Smith, 1889; Mrs. Susan Beebe, 
1890,1891,1892; Mrs. Mary A. Sloan, 1893, 1894; Mrs. 
Emma C. VanBender, 1895. 

THE LADIES OF THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. 

On the 18th day of November, 188G, a convention was 
held in Chicago, 111., composed of delegates from women's 
societies, organized and working for the advancement of the 

*Mrs. Elizabeth A. Long, an active aud useful member of the Woman's 
Relief Corps, No. 102, died at her home in Peuu Yan, April 16, 1895. 
Mrs. Long, at the time of her decease, was Chaplain of the Corps, aud 
was succeeded by Mrs. Harriet A. Gardner. 



140 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

principles of the G. A. R. In this convention there were rep- 
resentatives from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kansas, (^lalifor- 
nia, Ohio, Delaware, and West Virginia, and a consolidation 
was made with an organization in Illinois, known as the 
Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic. 

The name adopted is comprehensive, itself expressing the 
fact that all members of this order are akin to and a part of 
the "Grand Triumphant Army," which, with warm life- 
blood, wrote "victory" on our country's escutcheon, and by 
this act became a distinct organization. It is thoroughly 
independent in its existence, and its services are alike to 
every fraternal body of veterans, whether Post, Encamp- 
ment, or National Association. 

No woman can be admitted because of her loyalty, her in- 
fluence, or her wealth. The "open sesame" is the service 
given to his country by her father, her son, her brother, or 
her husband. 

The objects of this organization are to unite with loyalty 
and love for each other, to practice the precepts of true fra- 
ternity of feeling towards all sisters of the order, thus emu- 
lating the spirit which unites the fathers and brothers ; to 
honor the memory of those fallen, and to perpetuate and 
keep forever sacred "Memorial Day"; to assist the Grand 
Army of the Republic in its high and holy mission, and to 
aid in its noble work of charity ; to extend needful help to 
sick veterans and their families. 

A Department was formed in the State of New York on 
the 7th of March, 1893. 

Phil Sheridan Circle, No. 13, Ladies of the G. A. R., De- 
partment of New York, was organized at Penn Yan ou the 
evening of November 27, 1894, by Mrs. Mary C. Smith, of 
New York City, Department President. The following offi- 
cers were installed by Mrs. Smith, assisted by Mrs. Susan 
C. Beard, of Penn Yan, as Conductress jt^/'O tern. Mrs. S. Ru- 
uettie Randolph, President; Mrs. Eleanor Fullagar, Senior 
Vice-President; Mrs. Sarah W. Lewis, Junior Vice-Presi- 
dent ; Mrs. Adelaide Titus, Treasurer ; Mrs. Frances War- 
ner, Chaplain; Mrs. Maude Carr, Conductress; Miss Jennie 
Horton, Guard; Mrs. Mary McFarren, Secretary. At the close 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 141 

of the installation ceremonies appropriate and congratulatory 
remarks were made by Commander Pliilo H. Couklin, of 
Post Sloan, G. A. R., Past Commanders George W. Hobart, 
Perry W. Danes, Cassius N. McFarren, Benjamin Fnllagar, 
and John F. Randolph ; by Captain James H. Briggs, late of 
Philadelphia; also by Comrades Joseph Eveland, D. Clinton 
Robinson, Andrew B. Horton, Eli Lewis, and David Phil- 
brook. Short and interesting addresses were likewise given 
by Mrs. Smith, the Department President, and by Mrs. 
Randolph, the newly-installed President of the Circle. The 
name, "Phil Sheridan Circle of the Ladies of the G. A. R.," 
was adopted by ballot. The National songs, "America" 
and "Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!" were sung, and the pro- 
ceedings closed by an excellent repast, reminiscent of army 
fare. 

The Phil Sheridan Circle meets on the first and third 
Wednesdays of each month at Grange Hall on Main Street 
in Penn Yan. The organization is steadily increasing in 
membership and usefulness. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Militia Organizations— The First Separate Company, N. G. S. N. Y. 

THE first militia regiment, composed wholly of residents 
of Penn Yan and vicinity, was the One Hundred and 
Third, which was in organization when Yates was yet a part 
of the County of Ontario. The New York Annual Kegister 
for 1821 gives the field, staff, and line officers of this regi- 
ment as follows : Colonel, William Cornwell, Jr.; Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel, William Shattuck; Major, John LaAvrence, Jr.; 
Chaplain, Simon Southerland; Adjutant, James C. Robin- 
son ; Quartermaster, Samuel Stewart ; Paymaster, William 
M. Oliver; Surgeon, Joshua Lee; Surgeon's Mate, Joel 
Dorman ; Captains, John F. Randolph, Baxter Hobart, Har- 
vey French, Frederick S. Pierce, Jacob Herrick, Elijah 
Hartwell; Lieutenants, Daniel King, Samuel B. Wyman, 
Linsley Warfield, Israel Ferris, Jr., Nehemiah Winship, 
William McDowell, Allen Cole, David Priest: Ensigns, 
James P. Robinson, Ebenezer French, Thomas Ferris, John 
S. Rowley, John W. Willey, Nehemiah Raplee, Thomas 
Briggs, Elisha Doubleday. In Starkey, then called Reading, 
and included in Steuben County, was located a portion of 
the Eighty-first Regiment, commanded by Colonel Timothy 
Hurd, who had been a Captain in the War of 1812. Colonel 
Htird was afterwards promoted to General of the First Brig- 
ade, comprising the militia of Steuben and Allegany Coun- 
ties. His son Harry was (in 1820) Cornet of a Company in 
the Tenth Regiment of Cavalry in the same town, where was 
also located in later years the Two Hundred and Sixth Reg- 
iment,* commanded by Colonel Harvey G. Stafford. To 
this regiment was attached an artillery company, under com- 
mand of Captain John Royce. 

*In this regiment Dr. Walter Wolcott held the rank of Surgeon, and 
Captain Daniel Lanning commanded a company. John D. Wolcott, at 
the same time, served (with the rank of Captain) on the staff of General 
Nehemiah Raplee, who then commanded the Brigade, of which the Two 
Hundred and Sixth Regiment formed a part. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 143 

In 1825, when Yates County had been established, there 
was a company of cavahy in Penn Yan, commanded by 
Captain George Shearman. This company acted as an es- 
cort to General Lafayette, on the occasion of his visit to 
Geneva that year. This reception was also attended by an 
artillery company from Penn Yan, under command of Cap- 
tain Abram P. Vosburgh. At a later period Yates and a 
part of Ontario County were represented in the State militia 
by the Fifty-ninth Regiment of Infantry. Colonel (after- 
wards General) George Wagoner was in command of this 
regiment in 1840, and was succeeded by Jacob Van Orsdol, 
and he by William A. Dutch er. At the time the regiment 
was commanded by Colonel Dutcher, Edward Briggs was 
Lieutenant-Colonel and Samuel B. Wyman was Major. 
Company D (of this regiment), located in Potter, had, in 
1845, the following line officers : Fiske Clark, Captain ; 
James Conley, First Lieutenant; James C. Briggs, Second 
Lieutenant. James Conley was promoted to Major in 1849 
and to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1854. Previous to 1849 there 
was an organization in this part of the State known as the 
Rifle Corps, to which Alexander F. Whitaker, of Penn Yan, 
belonged, and in which he attained the rank of Major- 
General. The Fifty-ninth Regiment, in addition to its regu- 
lar drills and training, would usually go into camp each 
year, either at Cauandaigua, Avon, Geneva, or Dausville. 
The General Training was always a gala occasion, and was 
usually held during the first week in September. Crowds of 
people would assemble to witness the manceuvres of the 
troops on parade, and the quantity of refreshments, particu- 
larly gingerbread, that would then be consumed is beyond 
calculation. 

During the latter part of the Civil War the Fifty-ninth 
Regiment was officered as follows: Colonel, Benjamin L. 
Hoyt; Lieutenant-Colonel, James Conley; Major, John E. 
Bean. The militia companies at that time organized and 
belonging to this regiment were located in the following 
towns: Company A in Benton — George H. Banks, Cap- 
tain; Frank R. Cole, First Lieutenant; Oscar Hazon, Sec- 
ond Lieutenant. Company B in Torrey — George S. Dow- 



144 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

ney, Captain; Hugh King, First Lieutenant; Sherman 
Graves, Second Lieutenant. Company C in Penn Yan — 
William W. Eastman, Captain; Alonzo T. Lyon, First Lieu- 
tenant; Newton B. Spencer, Second Lieutenant. Company 
D in Italy — George Baldwin, Captain; Ezra Squires, First 
Lieutenant; Allen B. Chase, Second Lieutenant. Company 
E in Barrington — Lawrence E. Halloran, Captain ; John 
Johnson, First Jjieutenant; Darius E. Baley, Second Lieu- 
tenant. Company F in Milo — Joseph St. John, Captain ; 
Foster S. Roberts, First Lieutenant; Alexander H. Mills- 
paugh, Second Lieutenant. Company G in Starkey — Myron 
Skiff, Captain; A. Perry Minturn, First Lieutenant; Marcy 
Robson, Second Lieutenant. Company H in Jerusalem — 
Joel Burtch, Captain; Joel L. Davis, First Lieutenant. 
Company I in Potter — David M. McMaster, Captain ; Cor- 
nelius Halstead, First Lieutenant; Frank R. Andrews, 
Second Lieutenant; Company K in Middlesex — Luther 
Loomis, Captain ; William H. Stebbins, First Lieutenant ; 
John J. Robson, Second Lieutenant. 

Company C was at first an Independent Zouave Com- 
pany, organized in Penn Yan in 1861.* The members of 
this company, when on drill, wore a regular uniform, con- 
sisting of fez caps, blue jackets, and red trousers, with regu- 
lation leggings. The line officers at the time of organization 
were William W. Eastman, Captain ; Meletiah H. Lawrence, 
Jr., First Lieutenant ; Morris F. Sheppard, Second Lieuten- 
ant. Shortly after the date of organization, Morris F. 
Sheppard was succeeded as Second Lieutenant by A. Oliver 
Lewis. This company is remarkable for having furnished a 
number of commissioned officers for service in the war. 

In 1862, when the National Guard Act was passed by the 
Legislature of the State of New York, the Independent 
Zouave Company was mustered (July 16tli) under this act 
into the State service as Company C of the Fifty-ninth Reg- 
iment. The line officers of the company at that time were 

* Another independent company, known as the "Home Guards," also 
as the "Excelsior Guards," was formed that year in Penn Yan. The of- 
ficers of this company were: James Burns, Captain ; Jeremiah S. Jillett, 
First Lieutenant ; William C. Joy, Second Lieutenant ; Michael P. Bren- 
uan, Orderly. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 145 

William W. Eastman, Captain ; Alonzo T. Lyon, First 
Lieutenant; Newton B. Spencer, Second Lieutenant. This 
company was on guard duty at Canandaigua for a few days 
in the summer of 1863 for the purpose of keeping order 
during the draft. In 1864 the company members volun- 
teered for one hundred days and were mustered Aug. 25th 
into the service of the United States for that period. They 
were enlisted into the Fifty-eighth Regiment, commanded 
by Colonel Reuben P. Wisner, and became Company H of 
that organization. Company H had the following line offi- 
cers : William W. Eastman, Captain ; Alonzo T. Lyon, 
First Lieutenant ; George Titus, Second Lieutenant. Dur- 
ing the period of enlistment the company was on detached 
service, with headquarters at Elmira, and was employed in 
conducting volunteers and substitutes to the front, and in 
guarding Confederate prisoners. Company H was mustered 
out at Elmira, Dec. 3, 1864. The members then became 
Company A of the Fifty-ninth Regiment of the National 
Guard, and were finally mustered out at Penn Yan, Dec. 19, 
1868.* 

Muster-in roll of Company H of the Fifty-eighth Regi- 
ment of Infantry: 

William W. Eastman, Captain; Alonzo T. Lyon, First 
Lieutenant; George Titus, Second Lieutenant; Lauren C. 
Eastman, Albert Brigden, Ransom B. Jones, Eli Lewis, 
Herman C. Howell, Sergeants ; John B. Gilbert, John J. 
VanDeventer, Charles H. Comstock, Ransom Pratt, Cor- 
porals ; Privates, Andrew M. Brown, Theodore Barber, 
George Bell, Daniel L. Chapin, Charles S. Eastman, Ed- 
ward G. Elliott, Edward S. Fullagar,t John A. Graham, 
Lewis H. Haight, Addison Hawley, Nelson R. Hammond, 
George A. Hanford, Charles A. Kerney, James M. Lown, 
John W. Merrifield, Peter Mills, John R. Middleton, 
Charles W. Morgan, Jacob Rector, Jesse Reynolds, George 
F. Sherland, Charles H. Smith, Joshua Titus, George Tun- 
nicliff, Joseph J. Thayer, William O. Valentine, Edward K. 
VanDeventer, Jonathan J. Whitaker, Charles Woodruff. 

*The remaining companies of the 59th Regiment had been previously 
mustered out iu the mouth of June, ib68. 
tDied. 



146 THE MILITAKY HISTOKY OF YATES COUNTY. 

THE FIRST SEPARATE COMPANY, N. G, S. N. Y. 

In 1875 a law was passed authorizing the formation or or- 
ganization of separate companies of infantry, to be attached 
to brigade or division headquarters. The first company in 
the State to be organized under the new law was the First 
Separate Company, N. G. S. N. Y., which was organized at 
Penn Yan on the 15th of June of that year. The line offi- 
cers at the time of organization were William W. Eastman, 
Captain ; Calvin J. Huson, First Lieutenant ; Arthur S. 
Bush, Second Lieutenant. Calvin J. Huson was succeeded, 
as First Lieutenant, by Henry M. Mingay, who, in 1882, 
was promoted to Captain. Arthur S. Bush was succeeded, 
as Second Lieutenant, by Hansom B. Jones, who became 
First Lieutenant in 1882. The same year Abraham Gridley 
was promoted from Corporal to Second Lieutenant, and on 
Jan. 26, 1883, was further promoted to first Lieutenant, and 
was raised to the rank of Captain July 3, 1885. George T. 
Wilkins was promoted Oct. 5, 1885, from Sergeant to First 
Lieutenant, and Andrew C. Harwick was promoted from 
Corporal to Second Lieutenant Jan. 26, 1883. Dr. Ben- 
jamin L. Holt was made Assistant-Surgeon, with the rank 
of First Lieutenant, Sept. 8, 1883. The company was at 
first attached to the Seventh Brigade, Fourth Division, but 
on the re-organization of the National Guard of the State, 
Jan. 1, 1886, the old organization of brigades and divisions 
was changed and the entire National Guard was re-organ- 
ized into four brigades. The First Separate Company then 
became attached to the Fourth Brigade, with headquarters 
at Buffalo. 

The company was handsomely uniformed and was sup- 
plied with the Remington breech-loading rifle. The armory 
was located in what was formerly known as Washington 
Hall, on the east side of Main Street in Penn Yan. The 
main room of the Armory was spacious, well ventilated, and 
lighted by twelve gas jets, and here the company was 
drilled, usually on each Monday evening. The arms were 
stored, when not in use, in racks in a substantial arms-cup- 
board that stood at the south end of this room. In closets 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 147 

in an adjoining room were also kept the uniforms and 
equipments of the dift'erent members of the company. 

In July, 1877, at the time of the great railroad strike, orders 
from the Division Headquarters were received directing the 
First Separate Company to hold itself in readiness to go to 
Hornellsville at a moment's notice. The members, ready 
armed and equipped, remained at the Armory for three days, 
but were not ordered out. The company, during the time of its 
organization, established a well deserved reputation for ex- 
cellence in drill, and several times took part in the State en- 
campment at Peekskill. On the 30th of April, 1889, it par- 
ticipated in the grand parade held in New York City on the 
Centennial celebration of Washington's inauguration. By 
orders from general headquarters the First Separate Com- 
pan}^ was mustered out at Penn Yan January 22, 1890. At 
the time of muster-out the company had the following line 
officers: Abraham Gridley,* Captain; George T. Wilkins, 
First Lieutenant; Andrew C. Harwick, Second Lieutenant. 

Roster of members of the First Sei)arate Company, with 
the year in which each member joined the same : 

1875. William W. Eastman, Captain; Calvin J. Huson, 
First Lieutenant; Arthur S. Bush, Second Lieutenant; 
Henry M. Mingay, Orderly Sergeant; Lauren B. Drake, 
Second Sergeant; Ransom B. Jones, Third Sergeant; 
Michael Hennessy, Fourth Sergeant; Michael McCormick, 
Fifth Sergeant; Delos A. Bellis, Quartermaster-Sergeant; 
William A. Remer, First Corporal; James F. Benton,t 
Second Corporal ; Edson Potter, Third Corporal ; Frederick 
W. Bryan, Fourth Corporal; Israel B. Chissom, Fifth Cor- 
poral; William H. Conklin, Sixth Corporal; Henry W. 
Nichols, Seventh Corporal ; Frank Cramer, Eighth Cor- 
poral; Privates, Edwin A. Amsbury, Charles Bell, Charles 
H. Bonner, Henry S. Bridgman,t George B. Butler, Austin 
P. Bush, William Bush, Frank Bothwell, Eugene O. Bord- 

* Captain Gridley still holds the commission received from the State 
July 3, 1885, but is rendered supernumerary by the order mustering out 
the company. He also received, when a student at Cornell University, 
a Captain's commission for proficiency in military science. 

t Member of the band of music attached to tlic Company, and known 
as "Hyatt's Militarj' Band." 



148 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

well, John Chamberlain, George S. Cornell, John Downs, 
Jr., George S. Evans, James M. Gates, William H. Glad- 
ding,* Frank K. Gillett, Charles Hainer, William A. Hen- 
derson, John T. Hollo way, George Hyatt,* Alphonso 
Hyatt,* William C. Hammond, Willett R. Hazen, Robert 
F. Jolley, Samuel H. Kinnear,* Charles E, Ludlow, Walter 
S. Martin, Thomas M. Markland, William McClafferty, 
David J. McKie, Frank Meade, Jr., Lot McNernay, George 
S. Norris,* Frank W. Phillips,* Dyer I. Royce, William H. 
Remer, Hadley Remer, Henry C. Shearman, Oscar F. Slay- 
ton, Frank E. Spencer, Robert D. Stewart, William A. 
Stanton, John Tobin, Charles E. Vanderlip, Robert Watts, 
William Warren, George T. Wilkins, Peter F. Whitbeck,* 
Otto White, Orville B. Wood,* William H. Wood,* Nicholas 
Wollaver. 

Band. — George Hyatt, leader; George S. Norris (leader 
jpro teTTi.), E flat cornet; Frank W. Phillips, B flat cornet; 
Henry S. Bridgman, first E flat alto ; William H. Gladding, 
E flat trombone ; Orville B. Wood, first B flat tenor ; Sam- 
uel H. Kinnear, tuba; Peter F. Whitbeck, tenor drum; Al- 
phonso Hyatt, bass drum; William H. Wood, cymbals; 
James F. Benton, drum major. 

1876. Stephen G. Bushnell, William Brennan, Marshall 
E. Botsford, William Cook, D. Morse Castner, Edward G. 
Elliott,t Abraham Gridley, Charles S. Hoyt, William E. 
Leach, David McEvoy, Daniel O'Neil, Thomas Page, Dar- 
win P. Spear. 

1877. Samuel J. Ask, Charles F. Carley, Albert J. Chil- 
vers, Herbert Eaton, Ernest Eaton, Howard W. Farmer, 
Charles E. Raymond. 

1878. Andrew C. Harwick, Charles E. Hurford, Fred 
Miller. 

1879. Joshua B. Ellis, Ed. F. Wickham. 

1880. Narcisso Alvarez, John Barrett, A. Judson Bennett, 
George W. Brown, Eugene A. Bogardus, John Cleary, 
Samuel Caton, Frank Camfield, Theron F. Gray, Charles B. 
Hazard, Owen Hoban, Lewis T. Halladay, James N. 

* Member of the band of music attached to the Company, and known 
as "Hyatt's Military Band." 

t Succeeded Peter F. Whitbeck as snare drummer. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OP YATES COUNTY. 149 

Hazard, George Jayne, Junius W. Kellam, John M. Leslie, 
Alfred C. Moslier, Charles W. Miller, John S. Miller, John 
Purdy, John S. Parshall, George F. Reynolds, George Rey- 
nolds, Frank Tattle, Harry Wilcox, James Seymour Wil- 
cox, William E. Wheeler. 

1881. John Craugh, Samuel Kidder, Joseph G. Ketchum, 
Frank H. Kerney, Patrick McElligott, George F. Mapes, 
Elmer A. Meeks, Simeon F. Orman, Frank Sutherland. 

1882. Thomas Arnold, James A. Baker, William F. Borg- 
man, Robert Clemence, Smith J. Dailey, James E. Moon, 
Malcom D, Mix, Sheldon J. Shaw, Frank M. Simmonds, 
Samuel D. Sands, Edward H. Southerland, Harry E. Wil- 
kins. 

1883. Arthur Ayers, George H. Dunham, Patrick H. 
Flynn, Adelbert J. Hodges,* Benjamin L. Holt, Frederick 
W. Pasco, Dewitt G. Rogers. 

1884. George T. Amsbury, Henry G. Hunt, Thomas B. 
Hunter, Charles J. Ketchum, Edwin Lathrop, George Min- 
gay, George D. Purdy, David P. Shute. 

1885. Jeremiah Dvvyer, Thomas Dwyer, Archie Nelson 
Daines, Anthony J. Freeman, Fred W. Flynn, Hiram A. 
Finger, Charles F. Forshay, Rowland J. Gardner, Jr., Wil- 
liam H. Hopkins, Delos W. Hopkins, Sidney E. Hopkins, 
John Lacy, George W. Lewis, Philip Nageldinger, Clark 
Northrup, Francis J. Roche, William L. Stebbins, Winfrod 
P. Thompson, Arthur C. Warren, Gustaf Adolf Zetterberg. 

1886. William Agan, Henry G. Arnold, Charles T. Bur- 
rill, Albert R. Brooks, William Grant Carroll, Henry White 
Callahan, James B. Clark, DeCorie Dean, Ed. A. Dunning, 
Albert W. Hathaway, Thomas Hazard, Frank W. Hutf, 
Harry Jessup, Oliver Lyons, Elmer H. Nelson, James E. 
Roche, William H. Sands, Gideon W. Townsend, Samuel 
M. Whitbeck, Jr. 



*Iu 1882 a military department was established at Starkcy Seminary 
and placed under the direction of Adelbert J. Hodges of the First Sepa- 
rate Company. The students in this department were uniformed and 
supplied with arms. This was the first school of instruction in military 
tactics established in Yates County. Ten years later a department for 
military instruction was established, also under the direction of Mr. 
Hodges, at Keuka College. 



150 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

1887. George E. Alrny, Fred W. Beam, Fred A. Beach, 
John M. Brown, Kalph S. Cay wood, Charles Campbell, 
Charles Cobb, Marshall Cooper, Clinton Cresson, William 
A. Curran, Charles F. Dense, William C, Dennis, William 
E. Dense, John Faley, Edward A. Ferris, Arthur G. Gan- 
non, Ed. Houghtailing, Frank W. Huff, George F. Hamil- 
ton, P. H. Killigrew, Charles C. Kuapp, John Legg, James 
L. Lott, Harry S. Mizner, Edward Maroney, James F. 
Moon, William Murphy, Charles Norris, Daniel O'Connor, 
Jonah Ousterout, Charles W. Phillips, Frank Patten, William 
W. Shaw, Addison K. Shultz, Edward Smith, Frank T. 
Timms, Wilber A. Taft, George Tompkins, Edgar E. Wells, 
Charles E. Wright. 

1888. Daniel L. Booth, John R. Clemence, Howard L. 
Drew, George W. Denison, Melvin Dewey, Elmer Ellsworth 
Fox, Martin V. Margeson, Thomas McElligott, George S. 
Raplee, Fred Stroup, Charles H. Weaver, Paul J. West- 
cott. 

1889. Clark Bellis, Daniel H. Beyea, Patrick Cunning- 
ham, William Cresson, Charles Clark, Gardner B. Ellis, 
James H. Gamby, Ezra J. Horn, Arthur King, Harry Lipes, 
James H. Lord, Clay Miller, Emerson R. Meade, James T. 
Smith, George Titus, Jr., John Vail, Asa H. Wortman, 
Edward West. 

The Military History of Yates County has now been car- 
ried down to the present time. Concerning what chapters 
future years may add thereto, it is idle to speculate. Per- 
chance we are still to enjoy a long period of peace ; it may 
be that ere long the stirring annals of another war will en- 
gage the chronicler. However this may be, of one thing it 
is certain, and that is, that the conduct of the sons of Yates 
in the future will be such that they will never be ashamed to 
have it recalled in connection with the deeds of their illus- 
trious sires. 

Amid civic corruption and devotion to the chase of the 
Almighty Dollar, both of which evils are so prevalent among 
the American people of to-day, it may seem that patriotism 
is dead. But let no one fear. When the need for action 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 151 

comes, the young men of America will rush to the defence 
of their imperiled country with no less readiness than did 
the boys of '61. 

When the next great contest comes, it will find all Ameri- 
cans united in devotion to one country and one flag. The 
days of civil strife are over and with it the spirit of section- 
alism is also dead. The fact that the South desires a foreign 
war in order to show her present devotion to that Union 
which she once sought to destroy is one of the encouraging 
signs of the times. The memories of our civil contest will 
soon divide Americans no more than the reminiscences of 
the wars of Cromwell divide the descendants of the Puri- 
tans and Cavaliers in England. Time is the mighty healer 
of all wounds. The blood shed in battle sinks into the 
earth ; the grass grows green over the slain ; contemporary 
generations pass away, and soon naught remains but history. 
Henceforth we shall know no North, no South, no East, 
no West, but shall all unite in devotion to the Star Spangled 
Banner. If anything shall menace " Old Glory," certain as 
the eternal hills it is that it will be deserted by not a single 
American. 

Here we shall gather its cause to defend : 

Let patriots rally aud wise counsels lend ; 

It still shall be the flag of the free, 

Emblem of sweet liberty. 



APPENDIX. 



A HEROINE OF THE REVOI.UTION. 

IN the first chapter of this volume mention has been made of EHphalet 
Hull, Seth Hull, and Cyrus Buell as being among the soldiers of the 
Revolution who settled in Yates County. The wife of EHphalet Hull, 
who was also the mother-in-law of Cyrus Buell, is worthy of a somewhat 
extended notice for the part she took in the War for Independence. Her 
maiden name was Huldah Patchen. She was born in Connecticut, and 
was there married to Mr. Hull. They moved in 1771 to the country be- 
tween Ballston and Fort Edward in the then colony of New York, where 
they lived till after the Revolutionary War. Mr. Hull was largely en- 
gaged in that war, and in his absence his wife and children sometimes 
fled to the woods for safety from marauding bands of Indians and Tories. 
Mrs. Hull had one particular retreat at the root of an overturned tree, 
where, in a hollow filled with leaves, she, with her children's heads in 
her lap, slept many a night in the summer of 1777. In the fall of that 
year, on the approach of Burgoyne, with his Hessian and Indian allies, 
she loaded a cart with some goods and her youngest children, herself and 
the older ones walking, and driving the only remaining cow, and re- 
turned to the old home in Connecticut, stopping nights with hospitable 
farmers on the way. She and her children found homes with her own 
and her husband's parents until the close of the campaign. 

Mrs. Hull was one of the heroines of the Revolution, and her exploits 
were many. On one occasion, when all the women and children were in 
Fort Edward and the Captain needed to send for additional troops, 
none but old men and boys being in the fort, she volunteered to go. 
Taking the Captain's horse and saddle, and in a man's overcoat and hat, 
she rode out in the dark night, through wind and rain, for the needed 
help. Cyrus Buell, then a lad of 14, but a soldier in the ranks, saw his 
future mother-in-law, for the first time, as she rode in at daybreak. Cyrus 
Buell was shortly afterwards taken prisoner by the British and Indians, 
but was ransomed from the latter by a British officer, who kept him three 
years at Quebec and Montreal, and wished to adopt him and take him to 
England, and only gave him up when peace was declared, when he re- 
turned to his family who had long mourned him as dead. When he was 
first taken prisoner the long line of captives was counted off, half to the 
British and half to the Indians, the dividing point falling between him- 
self and a young friend, from whom he parted, as he supposed, forever. 
Years afterwards he found that friend living on a farm beyond Seneca 
Lake. 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 153 

Eliphalet Hull, with his wife and family, moved from their home near 
Ballston, and settled in Benton in 1792. There were nine children in the 
famil)', eight living to be old men and women. One of the sons, Eli- 
phalet Hull, Jr., was a soldier in the War of 1812, and married a daughter 
of the celebrated frontiersman. General Moses Van Campen. Mrs. Hull 
was a distinguished-looking woman in her younger days, having a tall, 
stately form, with brilliant black eyes. Her brother. Captain Daniel 
Patchen, commanded in the troop known as Washington's Body Guard. 
Her cousin. General Freegift Patchen, was once taken prisoner by the 
Indians under Brant, but was afterwards released. Mrs. Hull's wit was 
proverbial, and she was guilty of a pun upon her wedding day. She said 
she had been a Patchen all her life, but at last she was Hull. She had a 
remarkable memory, and of her life and experiences during the Revolu- 
tion she never wearied in telling. The last twenty-five years of her life 
were spent at the home of her grandson, David H. Buell, at Benton Cen- 
ter, where she died, September 3, 1839, at the age of 90 years. 

II. 
EXTRACT FROM THE COUNTY TREASURER'S REPORT FOR 1865. 

I have prepared the following statement of the number of men fur- 
nished by Yates County since the commencement of the war ; also the 
amount paid by the county, as bounties, aid to families of volunteers, en- 
listing fees, interest on bonds, and the incidental expenses connected 
witli and incurred therein ; also the present indebtedness and financial 
condition of the county. And in presenting this report of the prompt 
and ready response of our citizens to the calls of the Government for men, 
and by the noble and heroic work performed by the soldiers, who so 
cheerfully responded to those calls, I am satisfied that this report will 
compare favorably with the active and present financial condition of any 
locality in the State. 

The whole number of men furnished by Yates County since the com- 
mencement of the war is 2,109. 

Amount of Bounty paid by the County $614,880 00 

Amount of Enlisting Fees 23,365 00 

Amount of Volunteer Aid 18,207 00 

Amount of Interest paid on Bonds I9i752 95 

Amount of Incidental Expenses 4.241 68 

$680,446 63 
Of this amount there has been paid by : 

Tax of 1862 130,000 

Tax of 1863 28,000 

Tax of 1864 122,369 

Extra Tax of 1865 80,000 

$260,369 $260,369 00 

$420,077 63 
Received from the State of New York bonds and cash . 191,400 00 

$228,677 63 



154 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

Of this amount there is due, February 15th, after de- 
ducting New York State bonds and cash on hand . . 100,321 63 

Interest on whole amount of bonds up to February 15, 

1866 18,593 05 

Due February 15, 1866 $118,91468 

Due February 15, 1867 1110,832 00 

Interest to February 15, 1867 8,984 92 

Due February 15, 1867 $119,816 92 

Due February 15, 1868 $17,524 00 

Interest to February 15, 1868 1,227 68 

Due February 15, 1868 $18,751 68 

This will make a tax 0(1% per cent, each year for 1865 and 1866, and 
the ordinary county tax, added of about 1% per cent., would give us a 
county tax of 2^ per cent., or about the same as the tax of the past win- 
ter, excluding the extra tax of March, 1865. So the whole war debt of 
Yates County is only about three per cent, on the taxable property of the 
county, and is all, or nearly all, payable a year from next February. So 
much for the financial condition of Little Yates. Nobly has she responded 
to the calls made upon her by the Government. She was ever ready to 
sustain by her men, her votes, and her money. And now let us not be 
unmindful of the debt we owe to those brave men, who are returning to 
their homes, after having suffered and endured the toils and privations of 
war. Let us give them a hearty welcome, ever remembering that when 
our htarts were made glad with the news of victory, that these are the 
men, who, by their courage and bravery, helped gain that victory. And 
to them we owe a debt of gratitude that we should not soon forget. And 
to the relatives of those who have so nobly fallen while battling for the 
right, shall we not remember that our duty to them is not in idle words, 
but in acts that shall remind them that husband, father, brother, or son 
fell in a righteous cause, and a grateful people will revere their memory? 

JAMES BURNS, 

Treasurer. 
III. 

REPORT OF THE VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE. 

To the Honorable the Board of Supervisors of Yates County: 

GentIvEMEN : — Your committee, appointed under resolutions of the 
Board passed December 31, 1864, and also resolutions passed at subsequent 
meetings, to superintend tlie payment of bounties to volunteers, also the 
payment of enlisting fees or hand money, and other incidental expenses 
incurred therein by authority of said resolutions, would respectfully re- 
port that there were 233 men enlisted and credited to the different towns 
in the county under the last call. Of this number 204 enlisted for three 
years, and were paid a bounty of $600 each ; 4 enlisted for two years, and 
were paid $400 each ; 22 enlisted for one year, and were paid $300 each ; 
and 3 enlisted as officers, receiving no bounty, but were paid the enlist- 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 155 

ing fees. The total amount paid for bounties was $130,600, the amount 
paid for enlisting fees, or hand money, was $16,830. Your committee 
would further report that the $130,600, paid for bounties, has been re- 
funded to the county by the State ; also the sum of $61,400 has been re- 
ceived for excess of years of service on former calls. The county has 
thus realized a benefit for her prompt and efficient action under former 
calls, not only in readily filling her quotas, but also for the liberal induce- 
ments offered for three years' service. Your committee would further 
report that the quota of every town in the county on the last call was 
filled, or nearly filled, when the order was received to stop recruiting, as 
no more men were wanted. Yates County, when called on for men or 
money, was not found wanting. Your committee would further report 
that bonds were issued by the Treasurer of the county, for the purposes 
set forth in the resolutions of the Board, to the amount of $148,730. Of 
this amount there is due and payable February 15th, 1866, $79,559, and 
interest; February 15th, 1867, $49,897, and interest; February 15th, 1868, 
$17,524, and interest, and $1,750, borrowed, and payable 30 days from 
date. Your committee, in closing their report, would call the attention 
of the Board, and also the people of the county, to the fact that all frauds, 
false credits, and other wrongs, whereby counties have been imposed 
upon by fictitious credits, and the Government defrauded thereby, Yates 
County, by dealing directly with the soldier, has avoided. The bounties 
have been paid to the volunteer, and not to scalpers and scoundrels, who 
have grown rich out of this worse than human traffic. Your committee 
would also take this opportunity to express their thanks to the Provost- 
Marshal of this district. Captain Remer, and also to the other members 
of the Board of Enrollment, for their kind and gentlemanly treatment, 
and for the honorable and fair manner which we have always been dealt 
with. And we would also take this opportunity to thank the members of 
the Board of Supervisors for their liberality and kindness. On all occa- 
sions we have found them ever ready to respond to the calls of the Gov- 
ernment and working for the best interests of the county, and we feel 
that they have reason to be proud of the work of the county and its pres- 
ent financial condition. We have no war debt running longer than two 
years from next February, and only a small amount after one year from 
that time — 3 per cent, on the assessed valuation would pay the whole war 
debt of the county — and the war is over, effectually closed. Yates County 
has performed her duty faithfully, and her labors have not been in vain. 
We congratulate the Board of Supervisors and the county that the rebel- 
lion is among the things of the past, the call for men to sustain the Union 
and the glory of the old flag is heard no more, the occasion for them is 
past, the labors of your committee are closed. Faithfully have they tried 
to perform the responsible duties entrusted to them. They have consid- 
ered all portions of the county as having a common interest, and have 
endeavored to deal alike with all. If they have erred, it has been the 
error of judgment and not of intentional wrong. Their record is before 



156 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 

you. That it will meet with your approbation, and also the approbation 
of the citizens of Yates County, is the earnest wish of your committee. 
Very respectfully submitted, 

JAMBS BURNS, Treasurer. 
JOHN C. SCHEETZ, 
LEWIS B. GRAHAM, 

Committee. 

IV. 

soldiers' monument in BENTON. 

The town of Benton furnished one hundred and thirty-one soldiers for 
the War for the Union, of whom thirty-eight sacrificed their lives in the 
service. Shortly after the close of the war, a movement was set on foot 
among the returned soldiers and other residents of Benton to erect a mon- 
ument to the memory of the men who enlisted from this town. An asso- 
ciation was at length established, called the "Monument Association," of 
which the first officers were as follows: William J. Pool, President; 
Walter W. Becker, Secretary ; John D. Pool, Treasurer. As a means of 
raising funds for the necessary expense of erecting the monument, festi- 
vals and donation parties were at intervals held, and subscriptions were 
also solicited. Among the residents who were active in soliciting funds 
by subscription, the late Samuel H. Chapman is entitled to particular 
mention. The efforts of the association to establish a fitting memorial 
were after several years crowned with success, and the first soldiers' mon- 
ument erected in Yates County was dedicated with appropriate ceremo- 
nies at Benton Center on the afternoon of Saturday, June 15, 1895. 

The orator of the day was the Hon. Han ford Struble, who rode with 
various prominent residents of Penn Yan to Benton Center in the car- 
riage once owned by Jemima Wilkinson, the " Universal Friend." When 
they arrived at Benton Center the party was escorted to the speaker's 
stand by mounted marshals. The speaker's stand was beautifully decor- 
ated with flags and floral emblems. The address by Judge Struble was 
particularly eloquent, and contained many fitting references to the pa- 
triotism evinced in the town of Benton during the late civil strife. The 
programme included singing by the male quartette, and recitations by 
Miss Maud Swarthout, J. Stuart McAlpine, Miss Alice Pool, and Thomas 
Baxter. The unveiling of the monument, the dedication ceremon}^ and 
the decoration service were very impressive. The weather was fine and 
a large gathering of people was in attendance, including many members 
of the Grand Army of the Republic in uniform. 

The monument is of Barre granite, and the work was executed by F. 
R. Jenkins, of Penn Yan. As erected it stands in the spacious park in 
front of the Methodist Episcopal Church on Maple Street. On the side of 
the monument facing the east appears an elegant sculptured design, rep- 
resenting two army muskets crossed, with bayonets affixed, also a knap- 
sack, canteen, and the badge of the Second Corps. On the same side is 
the following inscription : , 



THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. 157 

IN MEMORY OF 

THK SOr^DlERS 

OF THIS VICINITY. 

1861 — 1865. 

The names of the deceased soldiers of Benton who arc buried else- 
where than within the limits of the town arc inscribed on the north and 
south sides of the monument as follows : On the north side — Robert 
Pool, Charles Benedict, 126th N. Y. Vols.; Henry Soles, 179th N. Y. Vols.; 
Charles E. Chapman, 33d N. Y. Vols.; Charles Kirkham, nth Pa. Cav. 
On the south side — George B. Alvord, George Feagles, Charles E. Willis, 
Norman Pettit, 148th N. Y. Vols.; Miles Hodge, Jacob Hodge, lylewellyn 
Baxter, 22d Cav., N. Y. Vols. The monument has a rustic base, and is 
surmounted by a highly finished ball, representing a cannon ball. 

The committee of arrangements, who had the erection of the monu- 
ment and its dedication in charge, were as follows : Walter W. Becker, 
John D. Pool, William J. Pool, Elizur Tears, Russell Chapman, James B. 
McAlpine, Hugh A. Roe, Benjamin Briggs, Rev. O. A. Retan, pastor of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church; Rev. B. R. Smith, pastor of the Baptist 
Church; Mrs. Emma Lee, Miss Mary Chapman, and Miss Alice Pool. 
The decorative committee comprised the following young ladies: Wini- 
fred Reeves, Mary Lown, Adaline Wright, Jennie Bush, Maud Arnold, 
Ella Pool, Clara Pool, Flora Watson, Josephine McAlpine, Carrie Soles, 
Edna Palmatier, and Margaret Lovejoy. 



ERRATA. 

On Page 9, 34th line, for "south part," read "greater part." 

On Page 12, 35th line, for "Azariah Finch," read "Captain Azariah 
Finch. 

On Page 13, 9th line, for "Thomas L,ee, Jr.," read "Colonel Thomas 
Lee, Jr." 

On Page 13, 9th line, for "Sherman Lee," read "Major Sherman Lee." 

On Page 31, 35tli line, for "Tuesday, April 19th," read "Wednesday, 
April 19th. 

On Page 45, 19th line, for "Henry Reppinger," read "Henry Peppin- 
ger." 

On Page 133, 2Qth and 38th lines, for "Joseph S. Thayer," read 
"Joseph J. Thayer." 



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